The Curse of Immunity
by SonicFanaticInc
Summary: -WARNING! THIS IS A SEQUEL TO ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE ON MOBIUS. PLEASE READ THAT STORY FIRST IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. Thank you.- Sonic the Hedgehog is caught in a struggle for survival in a world that has been brought to its knees by a deadly infection that reanimates the dead. But he is also caught in a struggle with the mental and emotional anguish that comes with surviving in hell.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: At long last, I have internet at my house and I plan to be posting more often during the summer. To kick it off, I'm going to be posting the sequel to Zombie Apocalypse On Mobius. This is the edited version of a novel I wrote that took about two years to complete. I hope it's a worthy sequel and all of your like it. It has a different feel than the first; focusing more on the mental and emotional toll it takes to be a survivor. In any case I hope you enjoy it. So without further ado, I present:**

**The Curse of Immunity**

'Entry # 78: I don't know how much time has passed since the infection started, but I think it's been a couple months at least. My only sense of time is knowing when day will turn to night and night to day. I've been holed up in Shadow's house since that fateful day. The day I lost my friends, my home to those damned zombies. Every single night The Horde comes back to try and finish me off. It's all the blood around here. I've spent days cleaning but the house still reeks of blood. They know I'm in here and they know it's only a matter of time before they get in or I have to come out. That's the part that really bothers me. They _know_. When Miky was bit, she turned much faster than she should have and when she did, there was something different about her. Different than the other zombies. Same thing with Shadow. When he turned, he was communicating with the other zombies like some sort of alpha male and the rest listened. It's almost like the infection as it takes more people, becomes stronger and more potent. But what still confuses me is why I'm not like the rest of them. Shadow got me pretty good, there's a huge scar where his teeth tore into my ankle. Plus there's the bite above my right elbow. Why didn't I turn? Am I immune? I must be, but why me? Why wasn't Tails immune? I have so many questions and no answers. But one thing that I do know is that I can't stay here. The house is about ready to fall apart. I'm not sure where I'll go but anywhere is better than here…'

* * *

Sonic closed the little black book, reattached the pen, and stuffed it under the cushion of the chair he was sitting in. With a stretch, Sonic strode to a busted out window to see the blue sky being torched by the flames of sunset. "Well," Sonic said with a sigh, "Time to lock up for the night." He bent and picked up a battered, dented sheet of metal and bolted it over the window. A quick glance around the house testified to the ferocity of The Horde's nightly attacks; arm-sized holes and huge dents riddled the metal walls of the bunker-like house. Spreading his guns, which consisted of several pistols, a revolver, an assault rifle, and an AK-47, and ammo over a coffee table near the chair, Sonic was alarmed to find his stock of ammunition was severely depleted. Sonic loaded the assault rifle, his personal favorite out of the whole arsenal, and slung it over his shoulder. He was decent aim but that had come with practice at the cost of most of his ammo and an extra bite. It happened a week ago when he had turned his back to grab ammo and a zombie bit down on his left arm just above the elbow. The incident had left him with a nasty wound to bandage and more confusion on why he was still alive.

Night was a short hour away when Sonic finished his preparations. With some time to think, Sonic pulled out a map of the area. After studying it, Sonic decided to head north due to the thinner population. "Less people means fewer zombies. There might even be a survivor or two up there…" mumbled Sonic. A horrid howling sound interrupted Sonic's train of thought. Another joined it, followed by dozens of others. Sonic calmly remained where he was as The Horde circled the house. An unbearable stench soiled the air as undead bodies banged and pressed against the walls. Sonic's ears perked at the sound of snorting and grunting. He recognized it as a particularly fat zombie that had recently joined The Horde as their battering ram. So far it had been unsuccessful in this endeavor but Sonic had a feeling that tonight would be its lucky night. Fast, uneven steps came charging towards the house at full speed before slamming into the wall, bursting through with a pig-like squeal.

Sonic was instantly on his feet, rifle aimed at the zombie's head. It tried to lunge at him but failed as it was firmly wedged in the hole it had made. Sonic couldn't help but laugh as he approached it, it all seemed just too funny. He was still laughing as he stood in front of it, not even flinching as it reached for him with its grubby hands. Sonic put the muzzle of his assault rifle to its head and his expression froze over, "I needed that laugh. Thanks. Also, thanks for patching the hole fatass." BANG! The Horde went into a frenzy as blood splattered everywhere. Sonic leaned against the sturdy part of the wall and shouted, "Enjoy tonight you bastards! Come sundown tomorrow I'll be long gone!" The noise intensified in response to the taunt. A smirk came to Sonic's face, "I know you're going to miss me but don't worry. I'm going to leave you a little surprise."

* * *

The next morning, the hot, rising sun chased the zombies into the cool shade of the Emerald Forest. The smarter zombies seemed to figure out that being out in the heat of the day made them decompose faster and always herded the stupider ones into the forest till sunset. Sonic knew he had until then to complete his work. Taking a big, sharp kitchen knife, he slashed open the gut of the fat zombie wedged in the wall, making a fountain of blood and entrails pour into a bucket which he set aside. He knew The Horde would spring at any chance to get at him but he didn't just how smart they were and if they could recognize a trap. The blood would serve as an insurance The Horde would go where he wanted them to. Making a quick trip to the basement, Sonic partially filled a backpack with food, water and medical supplies and grabbed three cans of gasoline. Once upstairs again, Sonic set aside the gasoline with the bucket of blood and swept his remaining guns and ammo, with the exception of his assault rifle, into the pack. In the front pocket went the map, a walkie-talkie, a few small throwing knives that Sonic was fond of using, his only picture of Tails, and the little black book. The preparations were complete and Sonic was now ready for his flight north.

The moon was beginning to rise over the setting sun as The Horde promptly began their assault. Sonic was dashing about, dumping the bucket of blood and insides all over the house. When he had finished, he emptied one of the gasoline cans all over the walls, furniture, and floor. By now, The Horde could smell the blood and were clawing at the walls, howling at a deafening volume. Sonic grabbed his pack, rifle, and the second can of gas and ran for the back door, leaving the third can in the middle of the living room. He kicked aside the barricade in front of it and threw open the door, "Come and get me!" Turning on his heels Sonic ran the other way and out the front door as The Horde began to fill the house. As he ran for some bushes, Sonic poured a deadly trail with the second gas can. By the time he reached cover, The Horde was beginning to realize that their target was nowhere to be found. Sonic lit the gasoline trial and the flame raced up and into the house, igniting the gas can inside, creating a giant explosive fireball, incinerating everything inside, and flinging any zombies standing near the outside. Sonic smiled triumphantly, a sense of vengeance in his heart, shouting, "That was for Tails and my friends!" With that he turned and began his trek north.

* * *

**Author's Note: There you have it, chapter one. I'll try and post one or two chapters of this every week along with chapters of Homefront Adventures. I hope this fic is off to a good start and I thank everyone who read the first story. Please read, review, and enjoy. **


	2. On The Road North

**Chapter 2**

"Hello? Can anybody hear me? My name is Sonic the Hedgehog, I'm a survivor and I'm looking for shelter. I have very limited ammo and food. I am not infected; I repeat I am not infected. Somebody please respond." said Sonic as he spoke into his walkie-talkie. Static answered his message. Sonic clicked the button and repeated the message, "My name is Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm a survivor and I need shelter. I'm not infected, repeat, not infected. Is there anyone out there? Please respond." Once again, static was his only reply. Sonic sighed and put the walkie-talkie in the side pocket of his pack. He had been traveling for a week, sending out his SOS as he went. He had covered a lot of ground by alternating running and walking, conserving his energy at the same time but at this stretch in his journey, the terrain was slowing him down.

The surroundings were forestry like where he had come from but with towering pines instead of stocky oaks. The ground was hilly, covered in hardy, prickly bushes with lots of rocks and sizeable boulders making it rough, slow-going. As Sonic had suspected, there were less zombies up North. But so far he hadn't seen any people either. Sonic looked up at the setting sun and sighed, "Time to call it quits for today." The blue hedgehog shimmied up into the branches of a tall tree. He ate a little, drank some water, and changed the bandage on his arm. When he was comfortable with his rifle on his lap, he watched for undead and waited for someone to answer his distress signal.

* * *

The rising sun shone on Sonic's face, waking him from his doze. He stretched and looked about. There was no undead in sight so he tried the walkie-talkie again, "This is Sonic the Hedgehog, is anyone out there? Please respond." Nothing. "Hello, somebody answer me, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog and I'm a survivor. I'm not infected, I am not infected." Still no answer. Sonic threw his hands in the air and slouched against the tree trunk. His sat up as a high-pitched chirp sounded. Two birds flew past and lighted on the next branch over, adding to the beginnings of a nest. Sonic relaxed and watched them with a small smile on his face. To see something normal in the midst of this nightmare made Sonic think that there was a chance for Mobius to recover from this plague.

Something black shot out of nowhere and tackled one of the birds to the forest floor. As Sonic leaped from the tree, his hope fled like the other bird. Sonic approached to see a bat tearing the bird to pieces. "Leave it alone!" he shouted as he grabbed the bat in his left hand, bending its wings at unnatural angles. The bat screeched and dug its little teeth into Sonic's hand, spraying foam from its mouth. The ugly thing's flesh was peeled and sun-burned with its eyes rolled back into its head. Sonic threw it to the ground and crushed its skull with his heel. He turned to the bird and turned away just as quickly. The bird had been almost completely disemboweled, feathers dyed red, its little head handing by a strip of flesh. Sonic buried the poor creature and moved on, knowing that things would never again be normal.

* * *

Sonic flopped down to rest. He had been going for three hours straight and was getting hungry. He pulled out a granola bar and began to eat, listening on his walkie-talkie for something, anything. After taking a swig of water, Sonic shouldered his pack and moved on. As he walked he tried contacting someone on the walkie-talkie again. The sun was setting again much to Sonic's surprise, "Evening already? Time seems to be flying out here. Back at the house, time used to drag." Sonic scaled another tree and began to get settled for the night.

The moon was beginning to rise when his walkie-talkie burst into life in the form of a male voice, "This is West Continent Refuge Alpha-Niner. Come in, repeat, come in."

Sonic snatched up the walkie-talkie, "H-hello?! I read you loud and clear."

"Who is this?" the walkie-talkie asked.

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog. I've been sending out a SOS for a week."

"We started receiving your signal about two days ago. But interference kept us from fully understanding the message until this evening. If you're looking for shelter, we can provide it but only if you are not infected."

"Trust me, if I was, I wouldn't be looking for a place to stay. Where are you located?"

The voice on the walkie-talkie exclaimed, "You're not thinking of trying to make it here tonight are you?! The sun will be completely set in an hour and you're still in South Horde territory."

"South Horde? If we're talking about the same horde of zombies, I've been dealing with the likes of them for a couple months. I don't think they'll be bothering anyone for a while."

Surprise was apparent in the voice again, "You took out South Horde?! We counted more than 150 zombies in that horde. How did you kill them all!?"

"Well, I didn't kill all of them but I got a huge chunk. If anything only a handful survived. Besides, I still have some ammo so I can handle any surprises. Just tell me where your base is."

There was a pause but the reply came, "Alright. Your signal puts you in the Pine Forest. You want to keep heading north till you exit the forest and see a big plain with tall brown grass. Our facility is situated in that plain, you can't miss it; it's the only structure out here. You really should wait till morning though. Lately a horde from the North has been coming to the edge of their territory to battle South Horde for control of the area."

"I'll be fine." assured Sonic as he climbed down from his tree and began to walk, "I'll radio when I get to the plain."

"Alright… good luck… Over and out." Sonic slowly picked his way through the darkening forest, taking care not to trip on any rocks or protruding roots. By the time Sonic had gotten to the edge of the forest the moon was directly overhead. He had his rifle raised and ready to fire as he stepped out of the forest and into the tall grass the male on the walkie-talkie had described. Sure enough, in the middle of the waving brown field was a structure with spotlights mounted on 25 foot walls and a huge steel gate.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ah ha, survivors ho! What sorts of things await Sonic in this sanctuary? Only time will tell! I hope to have a chapter of Homefront Adventures out soon. Till then, please read, review, and most of all enjoy! **


	3. Welcome Wagon

**Chapter 3**

As Sonic began to jog through the field, he spoke into his walkie-talkie, "This is Sonic the Hedgehog, I'm coming up to the front of your gates as we speak."

"I'll tell the boys up top to keep a look out for you." came the same male voice. As Sonic neared the gate, he waved at the guards atop the wall. They waved back and the gate began to slowly open. Sonic slipped through and it creaked closed behind him. There to greet him was three heavily armored soldiers.

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, "You guys have no idea how good it is to see someone who's not trying to eat me alive."

One of the soldiers shone a flashlight on Sonic and replied, "Well it's good to see that there are still survi-Sir! His arm!"

Another solider pointed, "He's been bit! He's infected!"

"Impossible!" growled the third, "He should have turned by now!"

Sonic took a step forward and began to say, "Whoa, whoa I can explain!"

The first solider whipped out a tazer and fired it, "Stay back infected scum!" Instantly, stinging pain filled Sonic's body, turning his legs to jelly. He fell to the ground and passed out.

* * *

A female lemur dressed in a military uniform and an old male owl wearing a lab coat and thick glasses entered a white room. The owl was chatting excitedly, "This is amazing beyond belief. I could barely believe it!"

With an irritated growl, the lemur replied, "This had better be good Baxter; it's very late at night."

"It's better than good, it's fantastic! This young fellow could be the answer to the infection, Lieutenant Capone!"

"What?! How do you know?" exclaimed the lemur. Baxter approached an examining table in the room on which, Sonic was lying on, unconscious.

The owl pulled on some gloves as he spoke, "The evidence is all here!" He pointed to the large disfigured scar on Sonic's ankle, "That could be none other than a bite, a pretty nasty one at that. You can tell by the way it healed."

Lieutenant Capone frowned, "So he was bit… but why hasn't he turned yet?"

"That's the brilliant part! He must be immune to the infection! Further proof is this bandage on his arm." Baxter pulled off the bandage wrapped round Sonic's arm, revealing a partially healed bite wound, still red and puffy. "See?! A miracle has been delivered to us Lieutenant, a miracle! With his blood, I can derive a vaccine or maybe even, a cure!"

"A cure!? How?!"

"It will be tricky and will take some time but I believe it is possible. There is only one snag though. The infection appears to be changing somehow. With each new generation of zombie, they're more intelligent and capable than the last. To be safe, he must be exposed to a recent strand of the infection." At that moment Sonic began to stir.

* * *

He sat up with a groan, "Ugh…What happened? Where am I?"

"You are currently inside the Medical Building of West Continent Refuge Alpha-Niner." answered the Lieutenant before introducing herself and the Doctor, "My name is Lieutenant Laura Capone and this is our doctor, Baxter Bartel."

"As for what happened," began Dr. Bartel, "You received a nasty tazing from the night watch crew."

Sonic winced as he touched a red area on his skin where the tazer had hit, "Yeah, it was quite a shock."

Lieutenant Capone was not amused, "Clever. I see you have a sharp wit."

"Allow me to give you something for the tazer wound." offered Dr. Bartel as he produced a syringe filled with a yellow substance.

"No thanks, I'm good. It doesn't really hurt anymore." replied Sonic

Dr. Bartel came closer with the syringe, "I insist. Besides, you're going to want this after what comes next.

Sonic was puzzled and began to say, "What do you-AH!" Before Sonic could stop him, Baxter jabbed the syringe into Sonic's neck and injected him with the substance. Sonic fell to the floor, gasping, trying to speak, only to find his tongue had suddenly become useless.

"Now, now, no need for panic. I've injected a powerful sedative into your system. First you'll experience a numbing of the body, starting usually with the tongue. Then your vision will degrade but you'll only be blind until you slip into unconsciousness." Sonic was on his hands and knees, trying with every ounce of energy he had to stand. He succeeded in getting to his feet, but quickly swayed backwards and landed on his butt, leaning against the examination table. "There, there, I know it's positively miserable. But not to worry, a side effect of the sedative is short term memory loss. You won't remember a thing." These were the last words Sonic heard before passing out again.

* * *

Sonic was awake yet not awake. Half dreaming, half aware. He could hear two muffled voices, arguing, "…not authorized… I'm in command… decisions…"

"…blood… cure… no choice…. "

"…plan?"

"…expose… infection…" Sonic felt his body moving forward, being dragged. He would have lifted his head to see where but his entire body was numb and unresponsive. It was all Sonic could do to keep his eyes opened in slits. His mind was shrouded in a thick fog that made it hard to think and focus. He felt the movement stop. His arms lifted of their own accord and slid across cold metal. A drop of liquid fell onto Sonic's right wrist and fear began to slowly rise. Unbearable pain suddenly ripped through the fog and Sonic screamed as he could feel teeth sinking into his skin and his blood pouring out onto the floor. Teeth dug into his other arm, making him scream louder. Sonic still couldn't tell whether he was awake or having some horrible nightmare but he began to struggle, pulling his arms away from those ravenous teeth that were trying to eat his arms.

'Just like Shadow.' thought Sonic randomly as he struggled. Images of Shadow and his arm, devoured up to the elbow, flashed through his mind. Sonic pulled harder, screaming louder as he felt his flesh catch in the teeth and hold fast. Something yanked Sonic from behind and his arms were free of the teeth. Adrenaline was coursing through his body, waking it up. He made a couple of shaky steps and tried to look around but his vision was still impossibly blurry. He looked down at his arms and merely saw red, red dripping from his arms, red on the ground, red everywhere. Just when Sonic thought his mind would surely snap, there was sharp pain in his neck and the world went dark.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh no, what has Sonic stumbled into? Whats going to happen to him? Thats what Chapter 4 is for! In addition, I fixed the poll on my page so if you can spare the time, drop by and vote please. As usual, please read, review, and most of all enjoy! :)**


	4. Quarentined

**Chapter 4**

Sonic slowly opened his eyes, quite a feat considering how heavy his eyelids felt. He turned his head to the right and his nose brushed a wall. Turning his head to the left, Sonic was able to view his surroundings. He was in a room that was so white, it almost hurt his eyes. In a corner sat a toilet and sink while square in the middle of the room was a table. An odd feature was the huge mirror that covered three-fourths of the wall directly across from Sonic, the other fourth being occupied by a door. The door immediately caught Sonic's attention, making him sit up as fast as his stiff, sluggish body would allow.

It turned out to be too fast. Sonic's stomach lurched and bile began to rise in his throat. The room spun like a merry-go-round with objects doubling and fusing back into one. Sonic held his pounding head and waited till the horrible sensation ceased. When it finally did, he swung his legs over and stood up. However, his muscles seemed unwilling to support his weight and Sonic crumbled to the floor. The speed of his decent made his stomach lurch again, making him gag. Sonic crawled to the toilet and violently vomited as his body tried to re-adjust itself and recover from the heavy sedative. At last, the waves of disgusting tannish soup ceased. Sonic turned away as he flushed the toilet and slowly got to his feet, using the sink as support. "Oh Chaos… what's wrong with me…?" mumbled Sonic as he washed out his mouth and splashed some water on his face.

He leaned against the wall and sighed, "What am I even doing here? What is this place?" Sonic thought back, remembering his journey up north, making contact with and finding the military refuge, and getting tazed but that was all he could recall. The rest was too hazy. He also noticed that his bag with all of his supplies and personal items was gone too. Sonic ran a hand through his quills but stopped halfway. He noticed on his arm, a little above his wrist, was a bloody bandage. "How in the hell-?" he muttered as he examined it. Sonic gasped to see a similar wrapping on his other arm. He partially unwrapped one of them and gasped again to see his skin shredded and oozing blood. "How-when-what!?" Sonic stuttered, "I don't understand!" The door once again monopolized Sonic's focus and his rising panic ordered him to get out of that strange place. He ran over, hand outstretched, to the door. The knob turned but the door refused to open, making Sonic's panic grow worse as he yanked on the knob and pounded on the door shouting, "Hey! Somebody let me out! Hey! Get me out of here! HELP!"

* * *

No one answered his desperate calls. Sonic gave up and went back to the bed. He sat down heavily and tried to make sense of his situation. He gazed around his white cell once more. Where ever he was, this certainly wasn't the guest rooms. Sonic looked down at the two new bites on his arms, looked around again and thought, 'Maybe I'm under some sort of quarantine…? But, that still doesn't explain how I got these bites. I can barely remember coming here apart from being tazed. Maybe a zombie or two tried to sneak in with me and there was a struggle?'

Sonic's ears went up as the squeak of metal hinges reached his ears. He noticed a slot underneath the large mirror and sliding through it was a tray with a glass of water and a sandwich. Sonic yelled, "Hey! Who are you, why am I in here!?"

"Here's your lunch." came the simple reply. It wasn't a voice Sonic recognized and even as it spoke he could hear retreating footsteps.

Sonic called through the slot, "Wait! Come back! Tell me what's going on here! Come back!" The footsteps did not return. With a frustrated growl Sonic gave up and muttered, "What lousy room service." He then turned to his lunch. A quick sniff indicated the sandwich was peanut butter. While he ate, Sonic further contemplated his situation. He didn't like be locked in this unbearably white room with no explanation. If there was anything the blue hedgehog hated, it was being trapped with nowhere to go. Worse still, his captor or captors had not told him why. All he could possibly think of was that he was quarantined for the two bites on his arms. 'That's another thing. I've been racking my brain but I cannot remember where I got these bites! It's really bugging me. Where did they come from…?'

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly for Sonic until finally he slipped into a restless sleep. Sonic found himself sitting in lush green grass staring up at a cloudless blue sky. Footsteps combined with a voice made Sonic's ears swivel backwards. It was Tails. In each hand he held a chili-dog, one covered in cheese and the other loaded with all the toppings and extra jalapenos. With a smile, Tails held out the loaded dog. Sonic smiled back and took it. The two sat there eating, not saying a single word. When they had finished, Tails gave Sonic a playful shove and Sonic shoved back. In no time they were rolling about in the grass, wrestling and laughing. Tails pinned Sonic who suddenly screamed. Tails' face was practically sliding off his skull with his fur, dirty and caked in blood, scraped away in places on his body to reveal skin and bone. The hideous mockery of the young fox lunged for Sonic's throat with a roar, teeth digging in, tearing away a chunk of flesh and blood squirting everywhere. A never-ending fountain, gushing red, gushing and gushing and-

* * *

"AAAAAHHHHH!" screamed Sonic as he bolted upright, drenched in sweat and breathing hard. His hand flew to his neck and found it intact. Still panting, Sonic laid back down, gazing at the ceiling with his dream replaying in his mind. 'Another one…' thought Sonic, 'Another terrifying nightmare… Chaos, why do I keep having these horrible dreams? Is it because I didn't keep my promise? I tried to but I just couldn't. I still saw him, Tails, my little bro. I knew Tails was gone but it still looked like him. And-and, it just sat there and looked at me. Like a little kid, like it was confused. It should have just jumped up and tore me a new one. But it didn't, it just looked at me. When I walked away, it tried to follow me and when I yelled at it, it… looked… sad….' Sonic slammed his fist on the wall and hissed to himself, "Pull it together dammit! Zombies don't feel sad, they don't feel confused! They just eat! They don't give a shit who, they just eat!" Sonic slammed his fist again as he felt hot tears of anger and frustration well up in his eyes, "Dammit! Why did I have to be immune to this!? Why not Tails!? It should have been me who got bit! Why wasn't it me?!" As Sonic laid there, tears pouring down his cheeks, he had never felt so alone since Tails died in his arms…

* * *

**Author's Note: Another chap posted. Poor Sonic, the guilt form his unbroken promise still lingering and haunting his dreams. I'm still working on Homefront Adventures and a few other projects as well. Please read, review, and as always, enjoy. :)**


	5. Something Fishy

**Chapter 5**

The next day, Sonic awoke to the sound of the hinges on the food slot and that same voice announcing, "Breakfast."

Sonic leapt from his bed, dashed to the slot, and grabbed the hand pushing the tray through, "Hey, wait just a minute!"

"AH! What the hell are you doing!? Let go of me!"

"Not until you tell me what in Chaos's name is going on here! Who are you? Just what is this place and why am I locked up in here? Tell me!" demanded Sonic.

"Alright, alright! Calm down man, yeesh!" agreed the voice. "My name is Billy; I work at the front desk and sometimes assist Dr. Bartel."

"Bartel?"

"Yeah, he's this owl with big thick glasses."

Sonic thought hard before replying, "Yeah he sounds familiar. So what is this place?"

Billy answered with a hint of disbelief in his voice, "You in one of the Medical Building's holding rooms, you know, for sick people who need supervision and intensive care. Dr. Bartel told me to observe and feed you. He said that you were to remain in there until he cleared you for outside interaction. So, uh, could you let go of me before I catch whatever you got?"

"I'm not contagious you know. I'm pretty sure I'm immune. If I wasn't I would have turned a long time ago." scoffed Sonic as he released Billy's hand.

A backward scramble of footsteps accompanied Billy's surprised shout, "You got bit?! You're infected!? Why didn't they kill you on the spot!?"

"You really don't listen do you? I'm not infected! I did get bit a time or two but I didn't turn. Don't ask me how or why but that's just how it is. But since I'm clearly not about to turn into a zombie, think you could let me outta here?"

"Sorry, Dr. Bartel said that you have to stay in there. In any case, I have to get back to work. I'll be back at lunch time." With that, Billy left. Sonic stood there contemplating his conversation. His hunch about being quarantined had been right.

"If I'm going to get outta here, " mumbled Sonic to himself, "I need to talk to that Dr. Bartel guy and explain what's going on. I can ask Billy to try and get him for me when he comes with lunch. Now all I have to do is wait." Sonic ate his breakfast which consisted of oatmeal, toast, and a glass of water. When he finished Sonic sat back on his bed and waited for Billy's return.

* * *

Lieutenant Laura Capone and Dr. Bartel were walking through the main compound toward the Medical Building as they were quietly discussing what to do with their guest.

Dr. Bartel argued, "We must keep him under observation for a little while longer just to be on the safe side, Lieutenant. His reaction to the infection could be delayed."

"That's one hell of a delay." scoffed Capone, "Most turn within 2 minutes and it's been 2 days. It's bad enough you acted without my permission, we could have asked him if he was willing!"

"Lieutenant, what sane Mobian would volunteer for such a thing? Not a soul I tell you. I saw an opportunity to better this corpse-riddled world and I took it! The needs of the remaining living beings over the needs of one lone individual are what we must consider. We are talking about preserving what's left of civilization!"

"There won't be anything left of civilization if we follow that policy. Because if we keep sacrificing individuals for the sake of the group, pretty soon, there won't be a group. Just the last standing individuals and then it turns into survival of the fittest. We'd be going even farther backwards instead forward."

Dr. Bartel pushed up his glasses as they came to the front of the Medical Building, "A very pointed argument for sure but far too sentimental and squeamish. In these kinds of sceniarios, there is some barbarity required! Every survivor and solider here can vouch for-"

Lieutenant Laura grabbed the Doctor by the collar of his lab coat, slamming him against the wall of the building, and growled, "Don't talk to me about barbarity, you QUACK! You managed to escape with your daughter while you wife drew them away! While I'm sorry for your loss, you had it easy compared to some people here!"

"Lieutenant, p-please, there is no need for violence! I was merely st-stating a point but I see I was speaking out of turn. Please, let go of me." pleaded Dr. Bartel as he tried to squirm out of Capone's grasp.

She shoved him away and stormed inside muttering, "Let's go check on your guinea pig and get this over with."

* * *

Sonic was sitting on the bed examining his bites again when he heard someone say, "Hello there! This is Dr. Bartel, can you hear me?"

The blue hedgehog stood and answered, "Yeah. You're just the guy I wanted to talk to."

Dr. Bartel, who was standing outside the room with Lieutenant Capone speaking through a little intercom, hesitated before replying, "Really? Why is that?"

"I was talking to your assistant Billy and he said that you're the one who put me in here. I know I have more than a couple of bites on me but I'm not infected, I'm not gonna turn. I already would have if that was the case." explained Sonic.

"We know that. When you came to our gates about 2 days ago, you had bites on your arms, we decided to quarantine and observe you to make sure you weren't going to turn." This false explanation earned Bartel a sharp look from Capone.

Sonic crossed his arms, suspicion clear in his voice, "Why didn't you just shoot me? That's what I would have done."

"Well, we thought it was fishy that you had three recent bites but you were not undead. So that's why we had to put you in this room."

"I would have remembered something like that."

"Ah, I didn't think you would. You see, you had scarcely come five feet inside our base when you had a terrible fit, a seizure of sorts, and we had to sedate you. My diagnosis was fatigue and prolonged exposure to the elements. Now that you've had some rest, you should be fine though."

"Well then," began Sonic as he shifted his hands to his hips and looked at the large mirror on the wall, "As you can see, and I know you're watching me through there, I'm fit as a fiddle with the exception of these bites. I'm not going to turn so could you do me a solid and let me outta here?"

Dr. Bartel hesitated again, "I'm not sure if that's advisable yet. We need to take blood and tissue samples for examination."

"Take whatever the heck you need if it will get me out of here. Think we can do that today?"

"I'm sorry but such procedures take much preparation and I have other pressing matters to attend to today. However, we can do it tomorrow. Is that suitable?"

This time it was Sonic who paused before replying, "Yeah. The sooner the better."

"Right, right, I will be sure to come by in the morning after Billy has delivered your breakfast. Now, I won't keep you from your lunch. Here." A tray with the same meal as yesterday was slid through the slot. "Farewell, I shall see you tomorrow morning." Sonic's ears perked as he heard not one, but two sets of footsteps walk away. He took his food over to the bed and as he ate, he began to think.

'This whole thing stinks. I remember being tazed and he didn't mention anything about it. I don't know what exactly is going on here but I do know when I'm being led on. This Bartel guy doesn't want me leaving this room but unfortunately for him, I have other plans.'

* * *

As they walked out of the Medical Building Lieutenant Capone remarked coldly, "You sure are a smooth liar. What sort of pressing matters do you have to attend to?"

Ignoring her tone, Dr. Bartel replied, "When you are both a doctor and a father, you learn such things. But do not put me in an evil light Lieutenant; I'm sure you've had to tell those under your command a white lie or two. But in any case, this buys us a little more observation time."

"I expect you to hold to the appointment you made. I will not partake in this charade anymore."

"Lieutenant I must say I'm surprised. After working with you since this apocalypse began and all of the hardship this refuge has experienced, you hardly struck me as a woman with a conscience and morals."

Capone looked away, "…It was different then… I'm not proud of some of the shots I've called during this shitstorm but it was about survival." She looked back at Bartel, her face like stone, "But we're not fighting for our lives right now. We're not barely clinging on. I will not promote loss of life or suffering if I don't have to Baxter! There has been enough of that. He will have his freedom by tomorrow afternoon, whether you have your samples or not."

The old owl began to become flustered as he stammered, "N-n-now see here! You didn't have any problem with this when we started! You were perfectly willing to go through with it."

"It was a bad call! I should have stopped as soon as you sedated him but I let you talk me into it. We don't need a cure or a vaccine. Do as I say or so help me I will blow this whole thing!" With that, she stormed off, leaving Baxter to contemplate her words.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh what a twisted web these people weave! But, Sonic is on to them and he won't take it laying down. Just a heads up, Werehog20 and I are working hard on the Valentine's Day one-shot, making good progress, and hope to finish it before July ends. If you don't know what I'm talking about, jump on over to Werehog20's page and check out our series of collaberations called 'Holiday Mayhem'. Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy. :) **


	6. Escape?

**Chapter 6**

The Doctor held true to his word and showed up the next morning at Sonic's holding room. The blue hedgehog had finished breakfast and was waiting for him. Dr. Bartel opened the door and began to lead him to another room where they would take the blood and tissue samples. He asked pleasantly, "Did you sleep well last night? Billy told me the night before last you seemed to have a night terror of sorts."

Sonic followed behind him and answered, "I've had worse nights. How long is this going to take?"

"Not long. There's no need to be nervous. The procedures won't be terribly painful."

"I'm not worried. I have a rule Doctor. Always trust your gut."

"Really?" replied Bartel as he opened the room they were to use, "A good rule to have indeed but I fail to see how it applies here."

"It applies because my gut says not to trust you!" shouted Sonic as he shoved Dr. Bartel into the room, slammed, and locked the door. He then turned on his heels and ran down the hall, searching for the exit. Sonic found the main hall and blasted out the front door, startling Billy at the front desk.

Billy grabbed a phone on his desk and punched a number, "Hello? Lieutenant? Come to the Med. Building! That guy Dr. Bartel was taking care of is escaping! And hurry because he is bookin'! I've never seen anybody run that fast!"

* * *

After getting out the front doors, Sonic ran around to the back of the building, looking behind him to see if anyone had followed. Suddenly he tripped and went sprawling on the ground as a high wail of pain sounded. He looked up to find he had tripped over a little female yellow-orange furred kitten wearing a little purple dress and boots with a blue bow in her hair whose big, sky-blue eyes were filled with tears as she began to cry louder. Sonic knelt beside her, "Hey, hey, hey. It's ok. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trip over you. Please, stop crying."

The kit rubbed her eyes and pointed to a scrape on her shoulder, "You gave me a owie! It hurts! WAAAHHHH!"

"Shhh! I'm sorry, I honestly am but I need you to be quiet." urged Sonic. She looked at him, arms folded with her bottom lip stuck out and quivering. "Thanks a million kid." Off to the side, Sonic spotted a raggedy doll. He picked it up and handed it back to the child, "Here. Sorry about tripping on ya. I was never here." Sonic gave her pat on the head and took off around another building. As soon as he disappeared, Lieutenant Capone came around the side of the Medical Building.

She spotted the kitten and demanded, "What are you doing back here? Ugh, never mind, have you seen a blue hedgehog come this way?" She received a silent shake of the head as an answer. "Fine. Go back in front, you shouldn't be playing here." Capone ran back the way she came, scanning the people moving about the compound on their daily business for her target. "Dammit Baxter!" Capone muttered under her breath, "I swear one of these days I'm going to punch your lights out!"

* * *

Sonic took a moment behind some bushes to catch his breath and get his bearings. He cautiously looked around to see that he was in a garden behind a small shack of sorts. There were 5 more just like it and beyond that was a large group of tents scattered about. Past the tents was the gate but atop it were two armed guards. Sonic was about to turn around and find some other way out but the little kitten from earlier stood in front of him. She had her doll in her hand and was staring at him.

She spoke, her voice was very soft and quiet, "Whatcha you doin' behind Mrs. W's house?"

"Hiding." whispered Sonic.

"Is that what u were doin' behind the Medisal Buildin'?" she asked.

Sonic, a little caught off guard by her sudden appearance, whispered again, "Yes, I was hiding there too."

Now she dropped her voice to a whisper too, "Why are you whisperin'?" Sonic couldn't help a small chuckle and the kit giggled as well. "What's your name?"

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. What's your name?"

"Tailor. I'm five."

"That's a very nice name. Listen, Tailor, I'm trying to get out of here. Do you know any way out besides that big gate?" She thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Tailor dear!" called out a female voice, "What are you doing out there? All of the other kids are in here already for lunch! Come inside dear!"

"Ok!" Tailor called back. She turned to Sonic, "That's Mrs. W. She takes care of me."

"Tailor!" came the call again. This time the owner of the motherly sounding voice came out the back door of the shack showing her to be a plump penguin with curly hair. She came over to Tailor, "Didn't you hear me dear? I said-AH! Who are you?!" She shrieked as she pulled Tailor behind her.

Sonic stood up slowly, "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog ma'am and I don't mean to cause any trouble. I'm just trying to get out of here."

"I'm Betty Wadleoff. But how can you be trying to get out? I didn't even see you come in; I make a note to meet every face that comes in those gates but I've never seen you before in all my life."

"I came here about 2 or 3 days ago in the middle of the night. I've been in that white building over there since then."

Betty gasped, "Oh my Chaos! I hope you weren't dreadfully sick!"

"No, no, no. I'm not sick" replied Sonic as he rapidly shook his head, "It's a bit of a long and complicated story that I can't really explain right now. Please, I just want to get out of here."

"Why don't we go inside? We can talk more in there." Betty led them inside and sent Tailor into the living room to eat lunch with the other kids. She and Sonic stayed in the kitchen to talk. "Now, leaving is pure crazy talk. There's hardly any safe place out there besides this one. Nothing but zombies and wilderness for miles."

"But Ms. Wadleoff-"

"Please, call me Betty." interrupted the kindly woman.

Sonic began again, "Betty. I can't stay here, I-" He was cut off by a knocking on the door. Betty bustled over to answer it.

Upon seeing who it was she exclaimed, "Lieutenant Laura! What a surprise! What brings you here?"

Sonic peeked around the corner of the kitchen doorway but he still could not see the origin of the strong female voice that replied, "Good afternoon Betty. I'm looking for someone and I was wondering if you had seen them."

"Actually, I was about to call you. Do come in. I'll be right back." Betty came back into the kitchen, "Out there is just the woman to help you. Come on now." Sonic opened his mouth to protest but she had already taken him by the arm and pulled him into the living room.

* * *

Once around the corner, Sonic was face to face with a female lemur in military dress with steely gray eyes. She gasped and pointed, "You!" Sonic, though every instinct he had told him to run if he wanted his freedom, could feel several pairs of eyes on him. A slight turn of his head proved him correct; a lion cub, a panda cub, a young owl, a small penguin, and Tailor were all looking at him with the wide curious eyes that children have.

He looked back the lemur and simply said, "Yeah, it's me."

She took a step forward, "You're going to have to come with me."

Sonic took a step back, "What if I don't want to? What if all I want is to leave here quietly and go about my merry way?"

"That can be arranged but first, you must come with me back to my office."

"And where's that?"

She gestured behind her and to the right, "Just across the compound." Sonic's eyes flitted quickly around the room taking in his surroundings. He could see the female's fingers resting gently but alertly on the grip of a pistol on her belt. She was blocking the most direct route so that left running out the back. However, if he ran, she might take a shot at him and Sonic didn't want to risk anything with children around.

So with a sharp exhale, he agreed, "Ok, let's go." With that, the two left the little shack and walked across the compound to a small building next to the Medical Building.

* * *

**Author's Note: Another chapter posted! Looks likes Sonic is in a bit of a mess. Lets hope the Lieutenant understands his unique circumstances and lets him go without that crazy quack getting a hold of him. Oh yes, a small announcement, I am looking for drawing projects so if any of you readers out there have OCs or cover art that you want drawn, shoot me a PM detailing what you want and I'll draw it to the best of my ability and email you photos or scans of the finished work. Anyways, enough advertising. As always, please read, review, and most of all, enjoy. **


	7. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

**Chapter 7**

They entered and the lemur walked past a solider in the front, who tensed at their entry, saying, "Stand down Private Collins. He's with me." They went into the back and in a little room. After the door was shut and the both of them seated, the lemur began, "Alright, let's get down to business. My name is Lieutenant Laura Capone, I'm in charge here. I imagine you're very confused but there is no need to worry. This is a safe place free of the undead."

Sonic replied cautiously, "How safe of a place is it?"

"Very. There is a 25 foot wall with a gate made of 12 inch thick steel. There are guards surveying all sides at all times. We have a well-stocked armory and plenty of food, water, and medical supplies. The next safest place would be another military base and that's a thousand miles away. But it's obvious you're trying to leave. This isn't a prison, you can go any time you like but there's nothing waiting for you out there, at least nothing good."

"So, if I said I wanted to, you'd give me back my belongings and let me walk out of that gate?" He received a nod. "And I assume, if I stay, I'll still get my stuff back?"

"Of course. Although, we have a firearms policy here that requires that every civilian only possess a handgun which they can carry around during the day and one larger gun that can only be brought out at night." explained the Lieutenant as she went on to say, "We'd give you a tent and sleeping bag to live in because the shacks are reserved for those with children and the elderly. There's a mess hall in the Medical Building and that is where everyone goes to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Sonic asked.

"I'm informing you of the conditions here because you brought up staying here. If you do stay, you will get a job in order to contribute around here. That will be determined on your skills and what's available. In addition, Dr. Baxter Bartel, you remember him, would want to ask you for your assistance but it is your choice to help him or not."

"The guy gives me the creeps. But just skip to the big question you're going to ask me."

The slightest of smiles came to Capone's face, "You're very keen. But my question is, will you stay here or leave?"

Sonic thought hard, 'I was looking for a place with other survivors and besides, where else would I go? Plus that doctor seems shifty but if I can actually make a difference…' He answered at last, "I'll stay."

"That's very good to hear. Now we have to register you into the population. I need your name, birthdate, and place of birth." She said as she pulled out a large binder and a blank form.

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog and my birthdate is-"

"Oh come on, your full name."

"That is my full name!"

Lieutenant Capone looked at Sonic sternly, "You honestly don't expect me to believe that 'the' is your middle name do you?"

Sonic remained silent but she continued to stare at him until he sighed and confessed, "Sonic… Maurice Hedgehog. M-a-u-r-i-c-e…"

"Thank you. Birthdate and place of birth?"

"June 23rd 1991, on South Island. Anything else?"

Capone scribbled down the information, "Let's see. You're obviously a male hedgehog so that's that. I still need your blood type, criminal record, occupation, military history, medical history, marital status, and any living relatives. "

"My blood type is O, I went to jail once but it was a misunderstanding, I don't really have an occupation, and I've never been in the military. Um, I've never had any real medical problems, I'm single, and I have no living relatives that I know of. Do you want me to tell you about my childhood too?"

"Ha ha, very funny. No, that is all the information I need. The only thing left is fingerprints and a facial profile picture." After these two things were completed the Lieutenant slipped the fingerprints, picture, and filled out info form into the large binder and put it away. She stood and extended her hand, "Congratulations, you are registered into the population of the West Continent Refuge Alpha-Niner. But, around here we just call it 'home' for short."

Sonic stood as well and shook her hand, "So you do have a sense of humor. I was beginning to think you were one of those forever sad people who were born without one."

She chuckled slightly before turning somber once more, "It's hard to keep a sense of humor alive nowadays. Anyways follow me and we'll get you your stuff." They exited the tiny office building and went next door to a shed. Capone unlocked it and tossed Sonic a tent and sleeping bag. "I'll send your personal things along later with a hand gun and a larger gun."

"I had an assault rifle with me when I came here. I'd like that for my larger gun, it's the only thing besides a pistol I can actually hit stuff with."

"Very well. I'll make sure it gets to you. You can set up your tent anywhere that's open. After you're done, take some time to get to know the facility and its residents, and then we'll see what sort of job we can find for you."

"Thanks, will do."

Sonic took a look around the courtyard which was a little smaller than a football field with all of the buildings set up on the far left, opposite the gate. There was the medical building with the military office on the left and on the right was the shed he had just come from and a tin shed which he guessed was the armory. The ground was mostly dirt with one large oak tree way off on the empty side of the courtyard and some scattered bushes. A little ways to the left, was the six shacks that the Lieutenant told him about near the wall, each with a garden growing fruits and veggies behind it. Past that was a huge cluster of tents; it was here that Sonic went with his tent and sleeping bag. He found an open spot on the outskirts of the cluster and pitched his tent. Sonic went inside, rolled out his sleeping bag and with a weary sigh, laid down.

* * *

No sooner had he closed his eyes, heavy boot steps came to a stop in front of his tent, "Ahem." Sonic got up and exited his tent to see a heavily built lion in a military uniform like Capone's. "Hello. The Lieutenant asked me to give this to you." He held out Sonic's backpack which Sonic gratefully took.

"Thanks. I'm Sonic. Nice to meet you." replied Sonic.

"Corporal Jared Roar, second in command here. I'm not one for formalities outside of military matters though so just call me Jared."

"My names Tiger!" came a shrill shout. Both adults looked down to see a young lion cub that bore a striking resemblance to Jared standing there with his chest puffed out and his blonde fur hanging in his eyes.

Sonic laughed, "Why hello there. Shouldn't you be off playing or something?"

Tiger shook his head, "No way! Today, I'm on patrol with my Dad!"

"You most certainly are not, young man. Go and play with the other kids. Go on, start marching cadet!" barked Jared as he playfully pushed the cub. He saluted his father and ran off whooping and yelling. "So full of energy and life. Not something you see very often anymore…"

"No… It's not…" agreed Sonic, "It's mostly the opposite…"

* * *

After Jared left, Sonic began to set things up in his tent. He opened the pack and dumped its contents. Out came his black notebook, his throwing knives, the picture of Tails (this was quickly put out of view), a clip of ammo for both the pistol and assault rifle, the guns themselves, and a few of the other miscellaneous items Sonic had brought with him. It appeared that what was left of his medical supplies, food, and ammo had been taken, most likely to add to the refuge's stock. In one of the pockets, he found a belt and holster which he clipped around his waist and slipped in the pistol and spare clip. "Now to store my assault rifle." muttered Sonic to himself as he tried to think of how to hide the gun so it would be safe from the children he had seen in the refuge. An idea came to him and he grabbed one of the throwing knives. He cut a slit in the tent bottom, dug a hollow in the ground below, and tucked the rifle and its extra clip inside. Next he took the blanket in his bag, folded it into a plush square, and placed it over the slit. Thus, by pulling his sleeping bag up next to it, Sonic had formed his bed and concealed the location of his rifle. With that finished, Sonic dusted his hands and went outside; it was time to see what the people of the refuge were like.

* * *

**Author's Note: So Sonic has decided to stay! But he still has no idea of the treachery going on behind the scenes. Just a little update on the status of Werehog20 and I's oneshot for Valentines. As overdue as it is, (seriously, its WAY overdo. I blame school XD) It is nearly complete and should be ready very soon. In the meantime, please read, review, and enjoy! :)**


	8. Citizens of The Refuge

**Chapter 8**

Sonic began to walk through the uneven rows of tents, looking for someone to talk to. No one was walking around outside of the tents but Sonic could hear people going about their business inside a few of them. Not wanting to disturb anyone, he continued to what appeared to be a main road of sorts. People walked up and down it to different places in the refuge. Sonic slipped into the flow of traffic and began to look for someone to talk to. He tapped an alligator in front of him on the shoulder, "Hi there."

He turned slightly and looked Sonic up and down before saying, "Hello. Can I help you?"

"My name is Sonic. I'm new here and I was looking for someone to talk to."

"Names Jeremy. But listen, man, people around here don't take too kindly to strangers. There are about 200 of us here and we're really tight knit. There used to be more but we've lost a bunch of people." replied the reptile in a gruff voice. "Point is though, that we don't take too kindly to strangers round here. So don't be trying to be all friendly or people are gonna get the wrong idea."

This puzzled Sonic intensely so he asked, "What do you mean wrong idea?" Jeremy didn't answer him but instead speed up and blended into the crowd. "Well that was rude." To his right, Sonic spotted a young rabbit female who looked to be his age, "Excuse me Miss?"

She turned and said with a smile, "Yes? Oh, I don't believe I've seen you around here before. Are you new here?"

"As a matter of fact I am. I'm Sonic, nice to meet you."

Her smile widened as she introduced herself, "Likewise. I'm Sarah. So you're from outside huh? I didn't even know there was still Mobians out there. Lately everyone here was starting think we're the last living things on the continent!"

"Before I found this place, I was starting to think the same thing myse-UGH!" At that moment, a male rabbit came out of nowhere and socked Sonic in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"You wanna hit on my girl!? Just try it again, I dare you!" the rabbit shouted with his fists raised as he loomed over Sonic who had fallen to his knees.

"What… is your… deal!?" Sonic managed to say in between gasps as he tried to get his breath back.

Sarah cried, "Barry, wait! He wasn't hitting on me! He's new here and he was just looking for someone to talk to!"

The male lowered his fists and helped Sonic to his feet, "My mistake. With everything that's happened around here, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm Barry."

Sonic rubbed his stomach and groaned, "Punch first and ask questions later huh? What the heck has happened to make everyone here so paranoid and hostile?"

Sarah looked at Barry and they exchanged a look of sadness and fear before she turned back to Sonic, "Many things have happened to this refuge and its people. The peace we have now is the first in weeks. It was horrible. Sickness, undead invasions, attacks, murders, all sorts of things. We lost so many people… solider, regular people like you and me, whole families… People don't trust anymore, everyone is jumpy, it's simply terrible…"

"Wow… I'm so sorry… I had no idea. I've lost people too… so, I know what you mean." said Sonic with a somber nod.

Barry nodded too, "We've all lost someone. I'm just lucky to still have Sarah. We escaped together. I think that in time, people will accept you like they did us. But, not with you looking like that."

Sonic looked down at himself, "What do you mean? I know I'm a little ragged but it's not that bad is it?"

Both rabbits couldn't help but laugh a little before Barry replied, "You look like you've been dragged behind a Jeep."

"Barry, why don't you show him where the showers are and I'll see you later." suggested Sarah.

"Ok. See you later." They shared a quick kiss and Sarah left. Barry began to walk, "Come on, follow me." Barry led Sonic to two long metal shacks off to the side from everything else, "Here we are. The men's shower is on the left. The water only runs for two minutes and a half minutes so scrub up fast. There are towels, soap, and all that inside. See you around."

* * *

"Thanks. See ya!" called out Sonic as the rabbit walked away. Sonic entered the mens' shower to find it was open with no dividers. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was no one else there; he welcomed the alone time. Sonic found a bar of soap, a washcloth and a comb under the sinks that lined the wall opposite of the shower heads. He caught sight of himself in the mirrors. His quills were unruly and dirty and his face was smeared with grit and little splotches of blood. The rest of his body was in the same condition with various scratches and the bandages on his arms. As Sonic undressed he muttered to himself, "Dragged behind a Jeep. Heh. Truer words were never spoken." He stepped under one of the shower heads and pressed a little button. Sonic yelped slightly as cold water cascaded down on him but after a few seconds, the cold streams felt nice on his travel and battle-worn body. He wasted no time in doing a through scrubbing and washing and finished rinsing just as the water cut off. After combing out and restyling his quills, Sonic dried off with a towel he had found, dropped it in a hamper marked 'Dirty', redressed, and exited the showers. He took in a deep breath, feeling better than he had in a long time.

This serenity was broken at a familiar shrill cry of, "Look out Mister!" Sonic looked up to see a ball flying towards him. With ease Sonic bounced the ball off his chest and caught it. A group of children ran up and among them was Tiger who shouted, "Hey I remember you! I saw you earlier today! Your name is Sonic!"

Sonic laughed as he tossed the ball to him, "Very good. And your name is Tiger." He knelt down and smiled at the other children, "Although, I don't think I've met any of you before. As Tiger already said, I'm Sonic."

A little panda girl grinned back, "My name is Chi and I'm 8 which makes me older than Tiger."

The fore mentioned cub stomped his foot, "By one year! Why do you always say that!?"

A young owl pushed up her glasses and said, "Big deal, I'm older than both of you; I'm 10. My name is Luna by the way."

"Sally!" came the sudden shout from a small penguin as she jumped in the air, "Me twee!"

Sonic laughed again, "Yes you are! Well it's nice to meet all of you. I gotta go but I'll see ya around ok?"

He stood and started to walk away but Tiger ran in front of him and said, "Wait, don't you wanna play some ball with us?"

Chi pleaded, "Yeah please?"

"Aw I don't think so. I-" Sonic started to say before he was cut-off by all four.

"Please?" they begged.

"Oh alright, one game. How do we play?"

Sally pointed to a basket nearby, "Kick! Score!"

"That's pretty much it. It's every kid for himself. GO!" yelled Tiger as he gave the ball a strong, but clumsy, kick and the game began. They all ran after the ball but it was Chi who got it first. She kicked it with all her strength and the ball landed in the basket. Everyone scored at least one point except Sally who was too slow and not strong enough to kick the ball into the goal. The toddler began to cry out of frustration so Sonic helped her score three times much to Sally's delight. The game went on for about an hour before they called it quits and rested under the big oak tree, enjoying the shade.

* * *

"You sure are a lot of fun Mr. Sonic!" remarked Luna.

"Thanks." Sonic replied, "And you can just call me Sonic. Say, you look a lot like that Dr. Bartel guy."

She nodded somberly, "He's my dad. I had a mommy but she got eaten by the dead people…"

Tiger piped up, "They ate my mommy too! Don't those stupid dead people know that 7 year olds need their mommies!?"

"Or that 8 year olds need their daddies?" added Chi. Sonic swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions down. Not even these children had been spared the trauma and hardship that came with losing someone to this hellish world.

"Hey, what did you do before the dead people?" Tiger asked.

Sonic scoffed playfully, "What did I do? You don't wanna hear something as boring as that do ya?" The children scooted in closer, their eyes begging to hear what his life was like before the world had come crashing down. "Ok, I'll tell you. Before all of this happened, I used to save the world,"

"That's a load of baloney!"

"I'm serious! Of course, I didn't do it all by myself, I had friends to help me out. We went on all kinds of adventures, traveled around the world, traveled through time, you name it and we did it!

Luna pushed up her glasses for the hundredth time as she said skeptically, "I don't believe it. Time travel is impossible."

Sonic winked at her, "Nothing is impossible. The only limit on what you can do is you."

"Well if you did time travel, what happened? Did you see pirates?" wondered Chi with excitement in her voice.

"Dinoswars?" asked Sally as she jumped on Sonic's lap.

Sonic couldn't help but laugh, "I've seen pirates and dinosaurs but not when I traveled through time. That's a whole other story."

"Well then what did you see!?" demanded Tiger.

"Well listen up and I'll tell ya! It all started when I met one of my friends, a cute pink girl hedgehog, and she was snatched by a robot me!" Sonic recounted the tale of how he sped through the past and the future to rescue the girl and stop his nemesis and robotic double from ruling all of time with magical stones. The kids listened with wide eyes, gasping and shrieking at the exciting parts, and cheering when a boss fell defeated. About halfway through the story, a twig snapped in the tree above them, causing everyone to look up. Perched in the branches was the kitten Sonic had met earlier. He smiled and said, "Hey there! I remember you, your name is Tailor right?" She nodded timidly. "Well I'm sure you can hear the story better from down here. Come on down and join us." Slowly and cautiously, Tailor came down from the tree and sat down to hear the rest of the story. In no time at all, the timid kitten was laughing and enjoying herself with the other kids. When the story was done, all of them were jumping up and down excitedly.

"We should time travel!" yelled Tiger.

"Totally! We can fight evil egg guys!" shouted Chi.

Luna jumped up, "I'll build the time machine!"

Sally ran in little circles, "Drive! Drive! Drive!"

Tailor cried, "I call navigating! Let's go!"

"Wait a minute you guys!" Sonic shouted, causing them to stop in their tracks, "You can't go running through time! Metal Sonic might get you! BZZZTT! I WILL DESTROY YOU! PEW PEW!" The children screamed as Sonic pretended to be Metal Sonic and chased them around the main compound, firing 'lasers' at them.

The kids dodged the invisible laser fire shouting things like, "Oh no he's gaining on us! What do we do!? Quick, make a hard right into the time of pirates! AH! CANNONBALLS AHOY!" The other people going about their business watched them play and couldn't help but smile, some even laughed to see such light-heartedness in the midst of the bleak, depressing circumstances in which they all lived. A grin of sorts came to even Lieutenant Laura's face as she watched Tiger bravely tackle Sonic to the ground and encourage the other children to dog-pile him from the window in her office.

"Ok, I give, I give!" cried Sonic after a half-hearted struggle.

Tiger declared triumphantly, "Metal Sonic has been van-squished!"

"Yay!" cheered the other kids.

Sonic got up and dusted himself off, "Alright you little rascals, I gotta go. Besides, it's getting late; the sun is going down and all of you should be headed home."

"Aaawwwww!" came the unanimous whine.

"None of that now. Go on home before you parents start to worry." With waves and shouted of good bye, the children ran off. Sonic watched them go and shook his head with a chuckle. He looked up at the rapidly darkening sky as the starts began to come out one by one and the happiness left his heart. His hand went to his pistol fingers drumming nervously against the butt. He quickly crossed the emptying compound to the building that contained Laura's office.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, Sonic certainly has had a trying first day as a citizen of the Refuge but hes made some little friends too. Perhaps this place will be a blessing in disguise?** **Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy.**


	9. New Begining

**Chapter 9**

The same solider from before was sitting at his desk filling out the day's reports and as Sonic came in he said, "Can I help you?"

"Hi, Collins right? I'm here to see Lieutenant Capone, she told me to drop by." Sonic answered,

"Just a second." Collins leaned over and pressed a button on an intercom, "Lieutenant, there's a civilian here to see you. Says you told him to come."

Capone's voice crackled through, "Let him in Collins."

"Roger, ok go ahead." Sonic went past him and entered her office.

As he shut the door she said, "When I told you to familiarize yourself with the inhabitants, I didn't mean to play a game of pretend with the children."

"The adults I was running into weren't as friendly." Sonic replied with a shrug.

"These people have been through a lot. Some had to kill their entire family to survive and make it here. They're all avoiding attachment."

Sonic gazed out the window and immediately thought of his friends, "I can relate to that."

"What is it? You seem on edge."

"I'm not very fond of nighttime. It's when those things come out to hunt mostly. The hoard you guys call South Hoard would come to my safe house every night, banging on the walls, trying to get in. That's why I had to leave. They're getting so smart; they would have found a way in."

The Lieutenant looked stunned, "So you've experienced it to? The zombies are acting smarter?"

"Yeah, they're getting awfully clever. I've seen 'em communicate amongst themselves. That's what all of that howling, screeching, and such is; it's how they talk and signal each other on what to do. They plan attacks and how to move to cut off and get whatever it is they're after. Plus I think I know why too."

"Explain."

"It's like every time a zombie bites somebody, the infection becomes more powerful and concentrated. The new zombie bites someone else and it does the same thing and the cycle goes on, creating a better and smarter zombie each time. It also explains why it takes less and less time to turn."

"I see. How did you come to this conclusion?" Lieutenant Laura asked.

Once again Sonic thought back to his friends as he answered, "I've seen happen right in front of me. When I was coming here, I was talking to one of your guys on my walkie talkie and he said that South Hoard, the one I've been dealing with, and a North Hoard were fighting for this area?"

Capone nodded, "Yes. Although lately, there hasn't been much of that. Why?"

"When I got the hell outta dodge, I managed to kill a lot of South Hoard. I don't know smart this North Hoard is, but South got to be pretty damn smart. The survivors might try and team up with North Hoard and strike this place."

"Please! Now you're giving them too much credit! These things are like wild animals, not military strategists!" scoffed Capone, "Thank you for your Intel but you're here for a different reason. We need to decide on a job for you, everyone here has one so you need one too."

Sonic didn't speak for a moment as he debated whether or not to convince the stern lemur of what he had said but he decided to reply with, "Fine with me."

"Good. Any ideas of what you would be good at?"

He thought for a moment, his playtime with the children coming into mind, "Is it possible for me to work with the kids?"

The Lieutenant gave him a questioning look, "Like a babysitter?"

"Why not?"

"Well they do have a nasty habit of getting into things and bothering the defense force. Their parents can't watch them because they all have other jobs. Alright then, if that's what you want, so be it. We'll meet with the parents in the morning to clear it with them. For now, go get some sleep."

"Thanks. Good night." Sonic left the building and went back to his tent. He unclipped his belt and climbed into his sleeping bag. Unused to sleeping at night, he tossed and turned for a while before finally falling into a shallow sleep.

* * *

Tails' corpse was after him, hunting Sonic through a forest. Zombie-Tails caught and pinned him to the ground. He stunk like rotting meat, his flesh barely attached, mouth full of blood. "You promised Sonic." gurgled Zombie-Tails, "You promised me. Why did you break your promise!?" As the corpse spoke, the blood sloshed out of its mouth and onto Sonic's skin, burning it like acid and making him scream in pain and terror.

"I'm sorry Tails! I'm sorry!" Sonic screamed as the blood ate its way into his flesh, "Please Tails! Forgive me! Forgive me!"

"You broke your promise! You lied to me! You lied!" shouted Zombie-Tails, sending a large splash of blood onto the side of Sonic's face.

"AAAHHHH! I'm so sorry Tails! Forgive me, I'm so sorry! Please Tails stop!" cried Sonic, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You promised me you wouldn't let me become one of them! But look at me now!" Sonic had his eyes squeezed shut, grimacing from the sting of the blood. "LOOK AT ME!" Zombie-Tails roared, splashing acid blood all over Sonic. It grabbed Sonic's face in its decaying hands and turned him towards it. Sonic screamed again from the pain and also from seeing the horrible distorted visage of his little bro. "You've condemned me to this Sonic! You've turned me into a monster!"

Sonic sobbed, "I'm sorry Tails, I'm so sorry! I couldn't do it, I couldn't shoot you! I just couldn't do it!"

"Sorry won't save you big bro. Now you're going to be just. Like. ME!" Zombie-Tails vomited a waterfall of blood onto Sonic, making the hedgehog scream at the top of his lungs, the sound climbing to a hysterical fever pitch of agony that echoed and reverberated around him. A huge cloud of steam rose from Sonic's body as he writhed about under the torrent of red. Sonic managed to crawl out of the acid blood waterfall, still screaming. He collapsed in front of a puddle of water and saw what the blood had done to him. His flesh hung in strips, his ears almost eaten away, and his torso was so full of gaping holes, his internal organs were tumbling out. Sonic let loose one last scream of misery and terror…

Sonic awoke with a start, drenched in sweat with his own screams ringing in his ears. He patted himself down, assuring that he was in one piece. He breathed a sigh of relief and exited his tent for some fresh air, breathing deeply in the hopes to expel the remaining horrors of his dream. Thus calmed, Sonic retrieved his belt and pistol and headed toward the shacks to meet the Lieutenant about his new job.

* * *

Capone was waiting for him impatiently, "There you are. In future, I'll be expecting you to be more punctual."

"Sorry 'bout that." he apologized, "I had a rough night, still getting used to the quiet."

"I'll excuse this time but there will be consequences the next time it happens. The parents are inside Corporal Roar's dwelling, come on." The two entered the shack next door to Betty's. Inside were Corporal Jared Roar, Dr. Bartel, Chi's mother, and Betty and her husband. Sonic shook hands with all of them and took a seat.

Jared was the first to speak, "So you want the responsibility of watching over our children?"

"Yes." answered Sonic with a nod.

Chi's mother spoke up, "Do you have experience with children?"

"I took care of my little bro since he was a little kid. I'm sorry Miss but I don't think we've met before, I'm Sonic."

"Lin Min."

Betty's husband added, "We haven't met either. Names Ben. It's a pleasure."

"Likewise. I really would like to work with the kids. Tiger's so adventurous, Chi is outgoing, Luna's smart, and Sally is flat out adorable. They're such great kids." replied Sonic, unable to keep a smile from coming to his face. The parents smiled as well, swelling with pride for their offspring.

Betty pointed out, "The children have taken an immense liking to you as well Sonic."

"I watched you play with them yesterday and to see my little girl that happy and carefree made me happier than I have been in a long time. And I could tell she was too." added Lin.

Dr. Bartel pushed up his glasses, making it clear where his daughter picked up the habit, "Whoo, whoo indeed! Whenever Luna comes home she's so quiet and somber. But yesterday she was talking my ear off about adventures through time!"

Sonic laughed, "Oh yeah, that was a lot of fun. Tailor seemed to really enjoy herself too." After a quick glance around he asked, "Hey, where are Tailor's parents?" Immediately, everyone else grew sad.

Betty shook her head, "Poor little girl is an orphan, both parents dead and gone... She's been staying with Ben, Sally, and I."

"About two months ago a scouting crew I headed found her hiding inside an ice cream shop in a small town north-east of here. The whole town had been infected and turned. We suspected it was the work of North Hoard." explained Jared, "She was the only survivor. She's got nobody."

"I can certainly relate…" muttered Sonic, "Everyone I know and care about is dead…"

"Perhaps you can connect with her and draw her out of her shell. It's not healthy for a girl her age to be so closed off." suggested Lin. The other parents nodded with murmurs of agreement.

The Lieutenant stood, "All in favor of Sonic taking on the job of watching over the children say aye."

"AYE!" came the unanimous vote.

"It's settled then. Sonic, you will take charge of the children in the morning and bring them home by sunset. While the children are in your care you will make sure they are safe and not interfering with important business around the refuge."

"I'll give it my all." promised Sonic.

"Good. Now, we all should get to our duties. Roar, I told Philip to cover for you, go relieve him." With that, everyone left the shack to begin the day's work.

* * *

Sonic found the kids sitting in a little circle and playing under the oak tree, "Hi, watcha doing?"

"Hey Sonic! We're playing rock-paper-scissors." replied Tiger.

Chi asked, "Can you play with us today?"

"Actually," Sonic began as he sat down cross-legged in the circle, "My new job is to keep an eye on you guys. So, we'll get to play every day."

"Yay!" yelled Sally as she hugged him. Sonic laughed and gave her a little hug back.

After a glance around, he realized for the second time that day someone was missing, "Hey where's Tailor?"

Luna shrugged, "I don't know."

A small voice from above said, "I'm up here."

"Whadda doin' up there?" Sonic asked, "Come down here and play rock-paper-scissors with us." Tailor thought for a moment before starting her descent. She stepped on a branch which suddenly broke. The kit hardly had time to shriek before Sonic reached up to catch her out of mid-air. "Whoops! That would have been a bad fall." He set her on the ground and smiled, "There. Now let's see whose got game!" They all formed a circle, Sonic's fist seeming huge next to five small ones. "Ready? 1... 2… 3… SHOOT!" All were knocked out of the game but Tailor and Tiger.

Chi jeered, "Oooo Tiger! You're going to get taken out by a girl!"

"Shudap! Just cause you're new to our group, doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" shouted Tiger.

Tailor blinked incredulously, "New? I'm in… your group?"

"Yeah of course. You want to be in our group right?" The kitten smiled slowly and nodded.

"That's the spirit! Show 'im who's boss!" encouraged Sonic.

Tiger began the countdown, "1… 2… 3… SHOOT!" Tiger threw out scissors, thus giving victory to Tailor who used rock. "Awwww!"

Tailor jumped up and down in the air, "I did it! I did it!"

"Girl Power!" cheered Luna and Chi with a happy shriek from Sally.

Tiger crossed his arms and pouted, "Girl Power my ass!"

Sonic snapped his fingers at him and scolded, "Hey! You are ten years too young to be using language like that and I'm sure your dad would agree."

"But my dad says stuff like that all the time! And he says a bunch of other cuss words too!"

"He's a grown-up so he's allowed to say stuff like that but you can't cause you still just a kid."

The cub pouted once more, "Fine but when I'm older, I'm going to say every bad word in the book!"

Sonic laughed, "Well I hope not! Cause that would make you one bad-mouthed little punk!" Everyone laughed wildly at this, even shy Tailor. The little kitten looked around at her new playmates, grinning. He gaze caught Sonic's and he smiled warmly at her, giving a thumbs-up. In that moment Sonic felt like he traveled back in time before the infection and was surrounded by friends again. 'Maybe, just maybe, things will turn out ok…'

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry its been so long since I posted. School is back in full swing and boy, they aren't messing around! I'm still working on Homefront Adventures and also Valentines one-shot with Werehog20 but with school and homework dragging us down, its rough going. But, we WILL prevail! So we crave your patience a little longer as we try and finish that up. So, until than, please read, review, and most of all enjoy this chapter.**

**P.S. Sorry for any confusion with this chapter. A huge chunk from the beginning went missing when I posted it the first time so I had to take it down and re-post it. Please enjoy. :)**


	10. Connecting Again

**Chapter 10**

Time rolled by as Sonic began to settle into life at the West Continent Refuge Alpha-Niner. It wasn't long until almost everyone knew him and often said hello when he was out with the kids. Sonic loved his job looking after the kids and they stuck to him like glue, always asking for a story or to play a game. Their parents loved him as well, often inviting him to dinner and functions at the refuge. While Sonic was trying his best, Tailor was remaining mostly closed off and distant.

One day when the kids were playing ball, Sonic was sitting under the oak tree watching them play. Tailor, as she tended to do, had climbed up into its branches. After a few minutes, Sonic's ears perked as a small whimpery sound reached them. The sound continued so he stood and climbed partially up into the tree. After a quick look around, he spotted Tailor, curled up and crying. With a quick check on the other kids' position, he climbed up further and sat on a big branch. Sonic reached out and gently tapped Tailor's shoulder, "Hey. Are you ok?"

She turned slowly, tears on her face and in her eyes, "Yeah."

"Don't lie to me now. You don't look ok. What's wrong?" Tailor was silent with the exception of a sniffle or too. Sonic scooted closer and coaxed, "You can tell me. What's on your mind?"

The kitten looked out through the leaves of the oak tree, "The other kids are really happy. But I'm not happy… I feel sad…"

"Why do you feel sad?"

More tears began to pour from her eyes, "'Cause the other kids go home to a mommy or daddy. But my mommy and daddy are gone! I don't know where they went and I miss them!" Sonic fumbled for the words to explain to this heartbroken five year old that her parents were gone forever.

He sighed and said, "I know how you feel Tailor. I know how lonely it is."

"No you don't!" Tailor suddenly shouted. The outburst made Sonic jump and scoot back as she continued, "Nobody knows! I know! Just me! I want my mommy and daddy! I want them! I want them now!"

"I do know, Tailor. You lost your mommy and daddy; well I lost everyone close to me. I lost my little brother… So I do know how lonely it is. I know what's like to stay up all night, thinking about every moment, every memory you have with them. I know what's like wishing and praying that you'll wake up and they'll be there. I know what it's like!" As Sonic spoke, he couldn't stop his own tears from falling and his voice from cracking. When he had finished, Sonic turned away to wipe his eyes and pull himself together. He turned back and saw Tailor looking at him, her big sky-blue eyes that were so painfully familiar to Sonic, wet and red from crying and her arms held out. The kitten's silent gesture reminded Sonic of how Tails would always come to him whenever he was sad as a child. Without hesitation, Sonic pulled Tailor in for a hug.

"I want my mommy and daddy!" Tailor sobbed, "I want them back!"

"I know, I know. It'll be ok Tails I promise…" muttered Sonic as he hugged Tailor close.

She stopped crying for a second and sniffled, "Tails?"

"Sorry, I meant to say Tailor. But I mean it, everything will be ok. Cause I'm here for you alright? No matter what, I'm here for you."

"Really?"

"Really really. We're in the same boat and we gotta stick together. We all do. You, me, and the other kids all have to be there for each other. Got it?" Tailor nodded. Sonic forced a smile onto his face and gently wiped away her tears, "Good, now let's stop those tears and smile. Come on; give me your best smile." The kitten offered up a quick little smile. "I know you can do better than that. Give me a big smile like this." Tailor giggled at the hedgehog's big cheesy demonstration grin and copied it. Sonic laughed, "There we go! Let's go join the other kids in a game of ball. Here, get on my shoulders so you don't fall."

Soon after Sonic managed to connect with Tailor, she began to open up and become more sociable with the other kids. She played pretend and ball with them, was always right in front during story time and retreated to her hiding place in the oak tree less and less. She reminded Sonic so much of Tails when they were kids and sometimes it hurt to be reminded that Tails was gone but Tailor also helped Sonic feel better as much as he helped her.

* * *

However, something else had been on Sonic's mind as well. Several weeks had passed and not once had Sonic gone back to see Dr. Bartel about using his blood to attempt making a vaccine or cure for the infection. But now that he had had some time to think, he decided that it was worth trying, even if the chances of success were miniscule. "If there's the tiniest chance we can save people the pain that I, the kids, and everyone in this refuge has had to go through, I want to try." Sonic was saying to Bartel as he talked to him in the Medical Building one evening after he had taken the kids home.

The old owl nearly jumped for joy, "Whoo whoo! This is excellent! Believe me Sonic, we are going to try and your blood is crucial, I'm sure of it. I can't thank you enough for changing your mind."

"So how is this going to work?"

The Doctor explained as he got a blood bag ready, "Well, it's a process of mixing your blood, which is full of antibodies that know how to kill the infection bacterium, with live bacterium. After that it's all biochemistry and such. But what you need to know is that it is a trial and error process and I might need you to give blood more than once. Hold out your left arm please."

Sonic did as he was told, "That's fine with me, anything to help." He winced as the needle pierced his skin and the blood drawing began. Within a minute or two, the bag was full and Bartel quickly put it in a little freezer with the biohazard symbol on it.

"There, all done. You might feel a little woozy but just drink some water and get a little something to eat and it'll wear off soon enough. Thank you so much again for helping with this Sonic."

"It's no trouble, I'm glad to. Oh and, uh, sorry about shovin' and lockin' you in a room a while back. I kinda got the wrong idea about you." apologized Sonic sheepishly.

"Whoo whoo whoo! It's quite alright! This blood sample more than makes up for it!" laughed Dr. Bartel, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get started." Sonic exited the Medical Building and went back to his tent, sure that he done the right thing.

The weeks turned into months and Sonic was really beginning to feel at home in the refuge. However, Sonic began to notice as time went on that he was devolping a lack of thirst. He had to force himself to remember to drink water. In addition, he found himself dealing with terrible stomach aches at night. He tried not to think much of it, because when he mentioned it to Bartel, the owl wrote it off that he was probably mentally occupied with the transition and his new duty and as a result, drinking water was the farthest thing from his mind. Thus, he was dehydrated and his stomach didn't have the nesseacry liquids to digest at night so it was painful as the stomach tried to digest anyway. The Doctor just suggested that he keep water on hand where ever he went and try to remember to drink whenever possible.

* * *

But all of that aside, Sonic had become good friends with Corporal Jared Roar. They talked often whenever the two had some free time, discussing everything from the children to the most badass zombie kill they've ever done or seen. In addition, he had gotten to know Lieutenant Laura Capone a little better, sharing their stories of survival.

"And that's pretty much my story." said Sonic as he finished telling the Lieutenant about his first few days of the infection. "What about you?"

Capone sighed, "That's one of the worst tales I've heard. And I've listened to every single survivor's story here. But I rarely tell them mine…"

"Oh, I'm sorry Lieutenant. I didn't-"

She held up a hand to silence him, "Its fine Sonic. You've trusted me with your story; I think I can trust you with mine. By the way… You can call me Laura."

Sonic smiled and nodded, "Ok. You were saying?"

Laura sighed once more before beginning, "I had just come back to my hometown from a tour of duty when the shit hit the fan. I was in the airport when somebody started causing a ruckus with airport security. I went over to see if I could help when the guy takes a bite out of one of the guards' neck! Everyone started to panic, people getting bit left and right, others getting trampled, mass Chaos."

"What did you do?"

"I got the hell outta there. But when I went outside, the same shit was starting to go down everywhere I looked. Naturally, the first thing I thought of was my family. I rushed home but I was already too late. My father had already been bit…"

"That's awful."

"Yes." she agreed, "But it was the tip of the iceberg. Like the rest of the world, we had no idea what was going on so when my father turned, we thought he was ill. He bit my older brother who tried to restrain him and when he turned, my mother, who just didn't understand her boy was gone, got bit too. Me and my younger brother locked all three of them in a bedroom and tried to figure out what to do. It was about that time that the government got on the radio to announce what was going on and what citizens should do to protect themselves…"

Sonic shook his head, "I understand how painful that can be... Having to put down your loved ones…"

Laura nodded, "It was too painful for my brother… Right after we were done, he panicked; started talking about what if it was in the air too, what if we were both going to wind up like them. He pointed his gun at me, saying that he'll shoot me and then shoot himself. I tried to get the gun from him but he just freaked and shot himself in the head… Two long days later, I was evacuated with what was left of my town and deployed here."

"That's pretty rough, I'm sorry Laura."

"Thank you. And thank you for staying. The children seem very happy to have you around."

"Ah, well, I'm happy to be around them. Besides, I can't think of a better place to go than this."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Well, I guess things are going well for Sonic now. Hes got a great new job, hes connected with Tailor, and his blood is being used for a good cause! But how long will the calm last? Please read, review, and enjoy. :)**


	11. Dirty Secrets

**Chapter 11**

Sonic had been living at the West Continent Refuge Alpha-Niner for about four and a half months and he was happier than he had been in a long time. But, his health was still slowly deteriorating, the stomach-aches at night were getting worse. Sonic had to muffle his cries of pain with his blanket to keep from waking those in the tents around him. He would be struck with horrible hot flashes making his body feel like it was going to burst into flames. Sonic would often go see after he dropped off the kids but the only thing Baxter could find wrong with him was that was he severely dehydrated and needed to drink more water, especially when the hot flashes start.

This particular morning, he arose extra early to head to the Medical Building and get his blood drawn again for Dr. Bartel's work as well as another check up on his health. He was supposed to have it done in the evening but today he wanted it done early before he picked up the kids. Tonight he was taking them camping underneath the oak tree so he wouldn't have time. Sonic went to the Medical Building whistling with a spring in his step trying to maintain a happy outlook despite how down right terrible he was feeling. The kids had been looking forward to camping for about two weeks and Sonic was eager to not disappoint them. Inside, he went to the front desk, "Hey Billy, is there a doctor in the house?"

Billy, the assistant, laughed and gestured behind him, "He's in the back Sonic. You sure are here early though. It's because of the camping trip right?"

"Yep. It's gonna be buckets of fun. Sorry to bug ya and run but I gotta get a move one or I'll be late picking up the kids. See ya Billy!" Sonic walked down the hall of the Medical Building, looking for Dr. Bartel. He came across the room they normally used to draw his blood and found the light was on and the door open however, no one was inside. Sonic glanced about for any sign the Doctor had been there but saw nothing. Another hot flash struck, causing Sonic to sway and sweat uncontrollably as he felt the skin on his face flush. He glupped down some water from the bottle that he now carried. It took effect quickly and he could feel his cheeks cooling. Feeling better, Sonic decided to just come back the next day and turned to leave when a faint low howl reached his ears.

Fast as lightning, Sonic whipped out his pistol and clicked off the safety. He scanned the room again, ears swiveling about his head to find the origin of the sound. The barely audible noise came again, Sonic turned to face it but saw nothing but a door on the side of the room. He had seen this door many times but it always had a lock on it, leading Sonic to believe important medicines were kept there. But no, there was no lock and the door was cracked slightly. His gun still up and ready to fire, Sonic pushed it open further to reveal a downward staircase. Looking over his shoulder to ensure no one was watching, Sonic began to descend.

* * *

Down into the darkness he quietly went, scarcely daring to breathe, trying to minimize the echo each of his steps made. When he reached the bottom, things were better lit. There was another howl, but it was much louder and closer. Every muscle in Sonic's body tightened up, ready to kill the source of the howl. The further he went into the basement room, the stronger the smell of rotten flesh grew. Sonic put his finger on the trigger and found himself shaking, much to his own surprise. 'Have those bastards really gotten in here? Will this place get torn apart, everyone here killed? Will I be all alone again?' With a vicious shake of his head, Sonic banished the thought. "The fuckers will have to eat me alive first." he muttered under his breath. Sonic turned a corner and had to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle an involuntary gasp.

* * *

Lined against the wall of the big room were five large glass cages with three to four zombies shuffling back and forth in each. On every cage there was a metal slot like the one that had been on Sonic's quarantine room. Sonic darted behind the cover of the corner as Dr. Bartel stepped out from the shadows on the other side of the room with a bucket. As soon as they saw him, the zombies began to become agitated, scratching on the glass and growling. Baxter pulled out a slab of raw meat from the bucket and their agitation worsened. Sonic watched incredulous as the Doctor went down the row, stuffing the meat into the slots and causing small frenzies as the horrible creatures scrambled to devour the meat first. "Most interesting. They recognize what it is by the smell. Same reaction upon consumption."

As Bartel was about to shove meat in the last cage when Sonic finally found his voice and shouted, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Dr. Bartel jumped, dropping the bucket and dumping the meat with its bloody juices onto the floor, "Wha-?! Sonic, what are you doing down here!?"

"I should ask you the same thing! I come here to get my blood drawn and instead I find your little zombie farm! Good Gaia, are you trying to kill us all?!"

"Certainly not! I'm conducting important research!"

Sonic scoffed, "Research my ass! Are you trying to figure out whether not we can get the zombies to leave us alone by feeding them steak?!"

"NO! This is science! I'm testing my potential vaccine mixtures and seeing what works best! That's what your blood is being used for! Your blood is the-"

Sonic cut him off with the cocking of his pistol, "Shut up!" He pointed the pistol directly at the Doctor's head. "Just shut the hell up!" At that moment the zombies in the cages began to howl, snarl, and bang on the glass.

Dr. Bartel watched them and muttered, "Amazing. They've caught your scent. They recognize you."

"What are you talking about!?" Sonic demanded, growing unnerved by the zombies' behavior.

"Your blood. They know you from your blood. None of my mixtures, administered carefully by injecting it into the meat I feed them, were working so in a desperate move I tried just a straight dosage of your blood with nothing else mixed in. It seems to deteriorate the potency of the infection bacterium by leaps and bounds depending on the size of the dosage. Your blood reduces them to mindless ravenous creatures but it has a side effect. They become addicted to it, they can't get enough. Something about the scent drives them crazy! However the last donation you gave me is having a weaker effect but they are still as addicted as ever. In fact, the process almost appears to be reverseing! I believe its becau-ACK!"

Sonic had grabbed the owl by throat and now he hissed, "That's what you've been doing with my blood?! Creating crazed monsters with it!? Well let me tell you something, Doc! You're not getting another frickin' drop from me! When Laura hears about this, she's going to want your head on a silver platter!"

"Ack! B-b-but she knows already!"

"What?" Sonic dropped Bartel in shock, "What do you mean? Laura would never allow something like this! Ever! I'm getting to the bottom of this right now!" Sonic took off up the stairs.

Startled, the Doctor ran after him, "Wait, what are you doing!? Come back!" Sonic dashed out of the Medical Building and into the building with the Lieutenant's office in it, surprising Collins.

* * *

"AH! Jeez you scared me there. Where's the fi-hey! Where are you going?!" exclaimed Collins as Sonic stormed past him.

Sonic tried to open the door but it was locked. Without hesitation, he kicked it open and shouted upon entering, "I want answers Laura! And I want them NOW!"

Capone, who had been talking to Jared, was caught completely caught off guard, "What in Mobius are you talking about!? And where do you get the nerve to come into my office and talk to me like that!?"

"Where do you get the nerve to let the Doc keep zombies in the goddamn basement of the Medical Building!?" retorted Sonic, his quills bristling with anger.

The Corporal jumped out of his seat, "Undead inside the refuge?! Lieutenant, he can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious! I want the truth Laura!" Both Jared and Sonic stared at the lemur who was rubbing her temples.

At last she said, "Sit down. Both of you." When they had both taken a seat, she continued, "A couple of months ago, I allowed Baxter to have zombies for his research on a cure. He assured me that they posed little threat and the cages looked secure so I agreed."

Sonic replied with hurt apparent in his voice, "So you lied to everyone in this refuge?! You lied to me?! You told me that this was a safe place that was free of the undead! You lied! What else did you lie about!? Are you hiding anything else!?"

"How you really got here!" added Dr. Bartel as he entered the room, having final caught up, "That's what else she's hiding! Go ahead and ask her about the two bites on your arms." Sonic looked down at what were now two scarring scabs on each arm.

* * *

He looked back up at Capone already getting angry as he began to speak, "How did I get these?" Silence was his answer. "How did I get these Laura!? Answer me! What happened in those first few days?!"

Laura shouted back, "We had you bit by the undead downstairs!" Immediately, raging hurt jumped to Sonic's face and he took a step back. She continued, "When you came here, the defense force saw the bandage above your elbow and tazed you. You remember that. While you were unconscious Baxter concluded that you were immune and said a cure was possible. When you woke up, he sedated you with the intention of exposing you to a recent strand of the infection. We kept you sedated for about two days and when you escaped on day three, we caught you and Baxter told you the false story."

Jared's jaw nearly hit the floor, "And you helped him?! Why!?"

Baxter jumped in, "Because she knew it was necessary for the preservation of Mobian civilization but lacked the guts carry through it completely! That's why she terminated the observation period after only three days."

"Because I realized that I made a bad call. I knew it couldn't be undone but I wasn't about to let it go any farther! Ok!?" snapped Laura.

Sonic glared at Laura, "You let those things bite me! How could you let him do that me!? How could you?!"

"Because of the scientific value and data that can come from it! Besides, its more important than ever! My lastest anyalsis confirms something I've been suspecting for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"Sonic, over the time that you have been telling me about your hot flashes, lack of thirst and extreme stomach pains I have studied the blood samples you have been giving me. I suspected your worsening illness had something to do with exposing you to the infection. I recently, last night actually, uncovered the cause. My initial conclusion that you are immune to the infection… was wrong."

As Sonic and Laura gasped, Jared exclaimed, "That's impossible! He has multiples bites, how could he not be immune!?"

pushed up his glasses, "Let me finish please. You have a strong resistance to the infection but you are in no sense immune. Every bite that you have gotten, introduced more bacterium into your system, slowly reanimating the dead bactirum. It was happening so slowly though, it was impossible to notice. This is also why it appeared my experiments were working but now it seems to be going backwards. However, when I introduced the more potent strand of infection into your system, the process kick-started. Happening faster, changing you on the inside. Sonic… you're slowly turning. But, your sacrifice-"

"My sacrifice?! Don't give me that 'needs of the many' bullshit! That's just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want to someone as long as you have a 'noble' cause! And now, your telling me, because of your stupid quest for a cure, that I'm slowly becoming a zombie!?"

"But-"

"But nothing! If you're going to play Russian Roulette, bet your own goddamn life!" Sonic left the office in an enraged huff while Jared still stood in the office looking at the Lieutenant with an angry scowl.

Laura asked, "Corporal, please go after him."

Jared replied coldly, "I will ma'am. But with all due respect, not for you."

* * *

Corporal Roar left the building, going past a very confused Collins, and went over to Sonic's tent. Rustling could be heard from inside and a moment later, Sonic emerged with his pack on his back. "Where are you going?" Jared got no answer so he asked, "You don't think I had anything to do with this do you? I'm as appalled as you are."

Sonic looked at him and shook his head, "I know you weren't involved. To answer your question, I'm leaving."

The Corporal was taken aback, "Why!?"

"Because… I'm turning into one of those things. I can't stay here and endanger the rest of you."

The hedgehog began to walk away towards the gate but Jared grabbed him by the sholder, "Sonic just wait! Maybe we can-"

Sonic shrugged him off and yelled, "I can't stay here Jared! Don't you get it! I'm going to turn into one of those walking meatpiles and come after all of you!" He turned away and muttered, "I'd rather die than have that happen. That's why I'm leaving… Before its too late…"

Corporal Roar, who had heard Sonic's story and knew that while the hedgehog always put on a brave face, he had a lot of pain inside, put a strong supportive arm around Sonic's shoulders, "I understand. I see I can't talk you out of it. You've been a great friend. Take care of yourself Sonic."

"You too. And Jared?"

"Yeah?"

"Whether Laura or Baxter gives you permission or not, shoot every single one of those undead bastards."

Jared gave Sonic a small salute, "You got it." Sonic returned the gesture and continued on his way. As he was about to reach the gate, Tiger, Chi, Luna, Tailor, and Sally ran up to him crying and latching themselves onto his legs.

Chi wailed, "Why are you leaving Sonic? What about the camping trip?"

"Yeah we heard you say that you're leaving! Is it something we did?" asked Tiger.

Sonic knelt down and tasseled the cub's hair, "No, no. You guys didn't do a thing."

Luna sniffled, her tears making her glasses slide down her beak, "Then why are you leaving?"

"Because… well… I have to go."

"No go! No go!" sobbed Sally.

Tailor grabbed his arm and pleaded, "Please don't go! We'll miss you! And who will tell us stories?"

Tiger added, "You never finished the story about the two brothers! That one was the best one! I wanna know the end!"

"Yeah!" chimed the other kids. Sonic looked at each of them in turn smiling sadly. Right then he felt selfish for wanting to leave because while he was hurt and wanted never again to get attached to anyone, he saw that these kids were strongly attached to him and if he left, they experience the pain he felt now. Their tears and sadness made Sonic want to throw his pack aside and stay.

'But I can't… Not with this change happening inside me…' Sonic said aloud, "I'm so sorry kids but… I have to go…" He reached into his pack and pulled out the little black book with the pen attached, "Here, this is the next part of the story. I'll be honest with you, it's a little scary and a little sad but I know you guys can handle it. You're much braver than I am… And when you've read what's there, can you do me a favor?" The kids nodded. Sonic couldn't help the tears welling up in his eyes and the shake in his voice, "Give it a happy ending for me."

Luna took the book, "We will. We'll give it the best ending ever!"

Chi cried, "We'll make sure the two brothers live happily ever after for forever and ever and ever!"

Tailor clung to Sonic and wailed, "The dead people are gonna eat you! Don't go! We'll miss you!"

Sonic hugged all of them tight as they began to cry loudly as young children do. The sound broke his heart and he cried too as he said, "You kids are the greatest friends anyone could ask for; I can't thank you enough for being the best thing in my life. I'll miss you, all of you. Good bye." With that, he let go and walked up to the gate. Off to the side, Corporal Roar could be heard barking an order and promptly, the gate creaked open enough for Sonic to go through. He looked back one last time to the kids, who were still sobbing and waving good bye. Sonic waved back and stepped through the gate which swung closed and locked behind him. He looked out at the field of brown grass and realized he was back where he started; he was once again, all alone.

* * *

**Author's Note: Alas what a horrible cruel twist! Our hero was doomed from the start! But the real question is, where will he go and what will he do now? Oh my gosh I have to resist the urge to just put up the whole rest of the story all at once! XD Anyways, I hope this chapter had you gasping in horror and surprise and perched on the edge of your seats. Please read, review, and enjoy. **


	12. Begining of the End

**Chapter 12**

Sonic had walked for hours and it was now evening as he reentered the Pine Forest. After fighting off yet another hot flash, he continued to walk, his pace slow. Sonic wanted to leave the refuge behind but at the same time he wanted to go back. He wanted to go back and take the kids on the camping trip they had been planning. But every time he stopped and began to turn around, he remembered the betrayal and the hurt so he continued on his way. When it began to get dark, Sonic decided to stop for the night. He considered climbing up into one of the trees for safety as he had done before, but after the trying day he had, the cerulean hedgehog decided to throw caution to the wind. "Any zombies around here can bite my spikey blue ass." Sonic muttered as he got a small fire going. After Sonic had eaten a dinner of various kinds of berries that he found in bushes around his camp, he studied his map. He had nowhere else to go so he figured he would continue to go back the way he came and wipe out what was left of South Hoard. With his course plotted, Sonic dimmed the fire to a smolder and went to sleep with his assault rifle by his side; just in case.

* * *

Sonic could hear talking, faint muffled talking. It slowly became audible and he could make out words, "He fought as hard as he could but it was just no use. He knew he was going to die. So he asked his best friend, his big brother for a big favor. Do you know what that favor was children?" All of the sudden Sonic realized he was trapped in a glass box surrounded by emptiness and the voice was coming from the outside. The voice, which sounded familiar but distorted somehow, continued, "He asked his big bro to promise that when he died, he wouldn't let him be one of the dead people. The big bro promised he would. But did he keep his promise? NO!" The cries of frightened children sounded followed by whimpering as Tiger, Luna, Chi, Tailor, and Sally suddenly appeared in the blackness. They were huddled in fear, staring at something Sonic couldn't see.

Sonic tapped the glass and called out, "Kids! Hey! Over here! Hey!" But they didn't seem to hear him. Sonic followed their gaze but all he could see was a shadowy outline.

The voice went on, rage becoming obvious as it spoke, "He lied to me, he didn't keep his promise! He let me be a dead person! But don't worry children, he'll be taught a lesson. Want to know what that lesson is?" The kids shook their heads, crying in fear.

The shadows melted away and revealed the speaker making Sonic gasp, "No! No!"

Zombie-Tails turned, looked at Sonic and smiled, showing bloody teeth, "Sonic thinks he can replace me. But he can't. Sonic thinks he can forget me. But he can't. Sonic thinks he can let his broken promise go unpunished. But he can't. So Sonic gets to watch all of you die."

"NO! DON'T TOUCH 'EM, DON'T YOU TOUCH 'EM TAILS! NO!" shouted Sonic as he banged on the glass. Zombie-Tails winked, sending a fierce chill down Sonic's spine. Then, to Sonic's absolute horror, Zombie-Tails pounced on the kids. "NOOO!" The zombified fox proceeded to tear the children to shreds, blood flying against the glass and gushing everywhere.

"AAAHH! HELP! HELP US SONIC! SAVE US! HELP! AAHHHH!" came the dying screeches and wails from the kids.

Sonic punched and kicked the glass, desperately trying to break it so he could rush to the children's aid as he screamed, "STOP IT TAILS! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! LEAVE THEM ALONE DAMMIT! LEAVE THEM ALONE! TAKE ME INSTEAD! TAKE ME!" But the glass didn't break and Sonic watched, eyes wide with terror as Zombie-Tails finished its grisly work. Sonic sunk to his knees, feeling utterly defeated and filled with despair.

The evil corpse came up and pressed its blood covered face against the glass, smirking, "You brought this on yourself you know. This is what happens to promise-breakers."

"Then you should have killed me!" yelled Sonic as he began to cry, "Kill ME dammit! They didn't do anything! They didn't deserve to die!" The broken hedgehog banged on the glass once more as he sobbed, "Why do you keep doing this to me!? Why do you keep torturing me?! If you wanted to kill me, you should have done it when I was standing in front of you with a gun pointed at your head! Why didn't you kill me then!? Why couldn't I shoot you!? WHY?!"

"You know why." answered Zombie-Tails simply, "You know why." Sonic just stared at the corpse, its words echoing in his head. Without warning, his glass prison began to liquefy and drip on him, splashing onto his face as he looked up and-

* * *

Sonic awoke with a gasp followed by a small shout. Crouched over him was zombie that was drooling stupidly onto his face. It registered that Sonic was alive and with a growl lunged for Sonic's chest. As he held it back, it snarled and snapped its jaws open and shut. Sonic tried to reach for his assault rifle but the zombie had kicked it aside when it had dove for him. With a shove he threw the zombie off him, scrambled and snatched up the rifle, turning and firing twice as the thing tried to jump on him. It dropped to the ground, dead. Sonic laid where he was, panting, almost in shock. It had been months since he had put down a zombie and he had forgotten how bloody it was. Droplets dotted his face and a pool was forming around the split open head. Sonic shuddered as he got to his feet and tried to wipe the blood from his face but only smeared it across in a bright red streak. He tensed as the rustling of bushes and the clatter of pebbles sounded. Quickly, Sonic scaled a tree and watched as a couple dozen zombies shuffled out of the brush. Two broke off and went over to the body of the zombie Sonic had killed. They groaned back and forth, nudging the body, and sniffing the air until another zombie growled viciously at them. The two left the body and rejoined the group moving through the forest. To get a better view of things, Sonic climbed higher, to the top of the tree and from there he had a view over the trees of the grass field, the refuge, and of dawn peeking over the horizon. After a second or two of observing the landscape, he let out a gasp.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ba Ba BUUMMM! Looks like things just went from bad to worse for Sonic! Any guesses on what he saw? Correct guesses will receive a fresh, home-typed, digital brownie! Ok, I'm not serious about that but please stay tuned to see what happens, another chapter will be posted soon! Please read, review, and most of all, enjoy!**


	13. The Refuge's Fall

**Chapter 13**

The grass was alive with movement but there was no wind as hundreds of things were moving toward the refuge from the North. Sonic knew at once that the undead were about to launch a massive attack on the refuge and he had to warn them. He jumped out of the tree and took off at a full sprint, skirting the small group of zombies that were going through the forest. 'Those must be what's left of South Horde. They must be working together! Dammit I told Laura this would happen!' Sonic thought as he exited the Pine Forest and ran into the grass. He could see the gates starting to open but he could not see why. When he got within shouting distance, he heard a voice that he recognized as a strong, 6 foot fox with a scar across his left eye named Lance from the defense force yell, "Hey fox-kid you ok?" Sonic slowed down as he approached, and peeked through the grass. Lance and Corporal Roar were looking at someone that was blocked from his view.

"Speak if you can hear us. Don't play games with us kid." barked Jared. After he received no answer he ordered, "Lance, call into the Med. Building and get a stretcher out here ASAP."

"Roger. Med. Building this Lance Corporal Lance, we need a stretcher and Dr. Bartel out here immeadia- ARGH!" At that moment, Sonic saw a flash of orange as Lance was tackled to the ground. "Get off you rotting stiff! GAH!" The orange thing was flung off into the grass and Lance stood, blood gushing from his shoulder.

"Shit, Lance!" shouted Jared as he opened fire on the thing, "Base this Corporal Roar, we've been had, I repeat, we've been had! The kid was a damn decoy, close the gates!" Suddenly hundreds of howls began to sound and the zombies making them stood up in the grass. The other group came out of the forest and joined in the war cry and all of them charged the refuge, Lance, and Jared as one massive horde. Sonic stood frozen in shock as the undead army ran at the rapidly closing gates. Seeing that the gates weren't going to close in time, he snapped out of his daze and ran to catch up.

"Get inside sir! I'll try and buy you some time!" shouted Lance as he shoved Roar towards the gates.

"But what about-"

"I'm a dead man anyways! GO!" Jared saluted Lance and dashed for the gates. "Alright you bastards…" Lance pulled a grenade from his belt and yanked off the pin, his eyes glowing red with rage and resolve, "Come and get a one-way ticket to Hell!" As the horde washed over him, the grenade exploded, sending corpses flying and roasting anything in the blast radius. Despite all the zombies that were killed, it didn't even begin to make a dent in the huge horde that trampled over the charred bodies of their brethren without a second thought. Jared entered the gates but it was too late as the tidal wave of zombies forced it open and spilled into the main compound.

"NO! Nononononono!" yelled Sonic as he ran straight into the river of zombies, blasting his way through with his assault rifle. He burst into the refuge and what he saw almost stopped his heart.

* * *

The refuge was engulfed in utter Chaos, people running and screaming with undead on their heels. The main compound was bathed in red blood and red light from the rising sun. The defense force was already being overwhelmed, the sheer numbers impossible to hold back. Instantly, Sonic's thoughts went to the kids and he took off firing at every zombie in his sights shouting, "Tiger! Tailor! Chi! Luna! Sally!" After a minute or two, Sonic hid behind one of the shacks to reload. Just as he slapped in the new cartridge, he heard a chorus of high-pitched screams near-by. "Kids?!" Sonic ran out front and saw two zombies break down the door and enter the shack next door. Wasting no time, Sonic followed and found Tiger, Luna, Chi, and Sally huddled together screaming as one of the zombies threw aside the table they had been hiding under. "Over here you rotting bastards!" taunted Sonic as he aimed his rifle. The zombies turned in time for bullets to bore into their foreheads. The kids ran crying to Sonic who knelt and hugged them tight.

"You came back!" exclaimed Luna.

Chi sobbed, "We thought the dead people were gonna eat us!"

"I don't wanna fight dead people like my Daddy anymore! I wet my pants!" cried Tiger as Sally wailed loudly.

Sonic squeezed them tighter, "Shhh. Its ok, it's ok; I'm here." They quieted down and Sonic realized that one child was missing, "Where's Tailor?" The children shrugged and shook their heads. Sonic stood, his voice taking on a stern tone, "Listen to me very carefully; I want you to go into the bedroom and hide ok? Lock the door and don't make a sound. Can you do that for me?"

Luna burst out, "You can't leave us! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to find Tailor. I'll be back soon, I promise. Now please go hide." Reluctantly, the kids ran to the bedroom and locked the door. Sonic then ran from the house, slaughtering any undead in his way. "Tailor! Where are you?! TAILOR!" Sonic jumped over Mobian and zombie corpses, dodging tackles and blows. As he plowed his way through the carnage, Sonic saw and aided several of the people he had come to know as they fought for their lives. He spotted Laura pinned in a corner and rushed over, spraying bullets at the undead around her. They dropped like flies and Laura finished off the last ones.

* * *

She was shocked to see the blood spattered blue hedgehog, "You returned! But, why?"

Sonic replied shortly, "Because when I saw what was happening, I couldn't just walk away. Did Jared kill the zombies in the Medical Building?"

"No they escaped. Bartel said they forced their way out. He told me about the blood thing; I would watch your back. They might sniff you out."

"Thanks for the tip. Have you seen Tailor?"

"No, where are the other children?"

"They're in Lin's shack, locked in the bedroom." replied Sonic as he started to dash off.

Capone called after him, "Where are you going?!"

"I have to find Tailor!" Sonic called back as he jumped once more into the fray. He was now standing in the middle of everything, killing zombie after zombie with his assault rifle and his little throwing knives from his pack. A gap opened in the crowd of soldiers and zombies and for a split second revealed Tailor, walking toward someone.

Sonic ran towards her and as he neared he could hear her shout, "Mommy! Mommy!" A quick glance showed a ragged looking female cat with clumps of matted fur dotting her skin and her simple looking dress hanging on her body in tatters. "Mommy it's me Tailor! Mommy!" cried the kitten with a smile on her face as she went toward the walking corpse, arms outstretched.

* * *

**Author's Note: No! Sonic's worst nightmare has come true! What become of them all?! XD I'm so excited to post the last chapters of this story! Oh yes before I forget, Lance the Fox is an OC created by NothingBetter1 and was used with permission. Thanks for your OC's contribution and spicing up that scene. I hope you liked Lance's cameo NothingBetter1 and I hope all of you liked this chapter. So as always, please read, review, and most of all enjoy.**


	14. One Way Out

**Chapter 14**

"Tailor no!" yelled Sonic as he was about to reach her, "That's not-GAH!" Something came out of nowhere and tackled Sonic to the ground. He was ready to punch it but his fist froze and his jaw dropped. The thing on top of him had dirty, blood caked orange fur with a filthy white muzzle and chest, large ears, and two bushy tails. "Tails?!" gasped Sonic. "Tails what are you do- But I- I don't- AAAAHHHHH!" Sonic screamed as Tails snarled and his teeth were lunging at Sonic's neck. "Tails stop, stop!" The zombie did indeed stop and stared at him. The same stare as when it had first turned, confused and conflicted. Sonic stared back and muttered, "I know why you didn't attack me when you turned. You recognized me… didn't you? You knew who I was." Zombie-Tails tipped its head to the side, as if it understood Sonic's words. "And that's why I couldn't shoot you. Because I could still see my little bro in there."

* * *

"Mommy? What's wrong?" Tailor asked as her zombified mother began to hiss and growl as it loomed over her, drooling foamy blood. "Mommy, you're scaring me!" Sonic saw what was about to happen and squirmed out from under Zombie-Tails, drawing his pistol at the same time. Her mother lunged for her as Tailor screamed, "Mommy no!" Sonic grabbed Tailor and moved out of the way just in time, the zombie's teeth scratching his left arm deep enough to draw blood.

"Look away Tailor!" Sonic urged as he covered the frightened child's eyes, turned on his heels and fired, blowing the face and skull to bits.

"MOMMY!" Tailor screeched at the sound of the gunshot, "You killed my Mommy!"

Sonic held her and said gently, "I'm sorry Tailor but she wasn't your mommy anymore. She was a dead person and she was going to kill you. I'm sorry." Tailor cried into his chest, her sobs shaking her little body. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." He turned to leave but four zombies were slowly approaching them, having caught the scent of the blood steadily dripping from the deep scratch on Sonic's arm. Zombie-Tails was sniffing the air too but he was still staring at Sonic with that same confused look. The four zombies pounced but Sonic jumped out of the way, firing his pistol and killing three of them. While this happened, Zombie-Tails had stooped over a tiny puddle of Sonic's blood, inhaling the scent deeply. The smell was intoxicating to it, irresistible. Sonic had just finished killing the last one at point blank range when he looked in time to see Zombie-Tails lick the puddle. In less than a second, a look of savage hunger filled Zombie-Tails eyes as Sonic shook his head and shouted, "Tails don't!" But it was too late.

* * *

Faster than the blink of an eye, Zombie-Tails pounced at Sonic who barely managed to dodge. The corpse let out a crazed howl and dove for Sonic again. He punched it in the face, knocking it down and stunning it. Sonic took the opportunity to run, holding Tailor tight, but he tripped and fell, dropping his pistol, as Zombie-Tails grabbed his ankle and yanked. He let go of Tailor and shouted, "Run to Miss. Lin's house Tailor! The other kids are hiding in the bedroom! Go; run as fast as you can!"

Tailor stood where she was, "But, but, but-"

The undead version of his best friend lunged again for Sonic's throat as he held it back and shouted, "GO! I promise, everything will be ok! I'll take care of the zombies, just GO!" Tailor ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Sonic could feel Zombie-Tails' teeth pricking at his neck, trying to tear out his arteries, and drink up his blood. Suddenly, Tailor's scream reached his ears as a group of zombies, foaming and howling like rabid dogs, ran after her. Sonic summoned all of his strength, flung Zombie-Tails from him, and grabbed his pistol. The group of zombies, no doubt from the Medical Building, were closing in, causing Tailor's scream of fear and distress to sound again as Zombie-Tails leapt at Sonic again. Sonic shut his eyes and pulled the trigger. BANG! SQUIPLAT! Zombie-Tails fell to the ground lifeless. Seeing the body of his best friend and little brother dead at last on the ground, never to have life again, Sonic couldn't help one sob escaping him as tears ran down his face in rivers. "Sorry I took so long little bro." whispered Sonic as he turned away and ran after Tailor. He knew that there was only one way to save what was left of the refuge from the hundreds of zombies assaulting it, "I'm dead anyways, might as well try to make it mean something…"

* * *

Sonic swiped a knife from a fallen solider and slashed his arm open shouting, "Come and get it fuckers!" The Medical Building zombies stopped chasing Tailor and took huge whiffs of the air, the undead around the camp doing the same. The Medical Building zombies then howled in such a high pitch, it was almost a shriek and the other zombies throughout the refuge joined in as they caught scent of Sonic's blood as well. Every single one dropped what it was doing and charged toward Sonic who began to run, his flayed arm spraying blood behind him. He led The Horde toward the gate, staying a good ways ahead. To make sure that all would follow, Sonic slashed his other arm, blood gushing out like a fountain as he screamed from the pain of the sawed edge hacking through his flesh. This drove The Horde into a stampeding frenzy. Sonic looked out at the field of grass and back at the shack the kids were sheltering in. He turned and ran out into the grass, knowing that for the last time in his life, he was going to break a promise.

Blood loss was making Sonic dizzy, blurring his vision, and making it hard to stay upright. He ventured a glance behind, The Horde was following him, the last of the undead exiting the gate. He tripped and fell. The dying hedgehog tried to get up and managed to stumble another foot or two before collapsing into the grass. 'That's ok.' Sonic thought to himself as he lied there, gasping for breath, his heart racing and rapidly pumping his blood from his body, 'This is far enough. Any stragglers will be easy to deal with. The kids are safe and… Tails is finally… dead. I can rest… for a… minute…' He managed to roll over and look up at the sky. It was slowly lightening from dark night blue to a light blue as the sun rose further and further, making the stars go out one by one. He began to fade in and out of consciousness as rustling and snarling reached his ears. Everything went black as Sonic felt teeth all over his body and then he felt no more…

* * *

**Author's Note: Here it is, the second to last chapter. And what a sad chapter it is! But, there is an epilouge to this tale. There we will find out whether or not Sonic's sacrifice was in vain. Please read, review, and most of all enjoy.**


	15. A Happy Ending: Epilouge

**Chapter 15**

'A Happy Ending. By Luna, Tiger, Chi, Tailor, and Sally.

Sonic led the dead people out of the gate and into the field. Our home was saved! Lots of people got killed but lots of people lived too. All of our Mommy's and Daddy's are ok and we are ok too. The only one who wasn't ok besides the people who got killed was Sonic. The dead people ate him. But that was ok too. Because now Sonic and his brother Tails are together again. They can go on adventures together and do all of the fun stuff they used to do. The story of the two brothers was always Sonic and Tails' story. It's a happy story but it's a sad and scary story too. But mostly happy. Sonic thought the story ended when Tails turned into a dead person. But he was wrong. It didn't end when Sonic got killed either. It ends here. The ending is sad but happy too. The story ends with the brothers reunited, always together, through thick and thin, through good and bad.

**The End.**

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**Author's Note: There it is! The end of the story! I know the epilogue was extremely short, but I wanted to tie up loose ends and show you the happy ending the kids put in the back of Sonic's journal. My thanks to everyone who read the first story and read this one. Thank you for your reviews and your support. Another chapter of Homefront Adventures is on its way and perhaps some of my other projects as well. But as for this story, I hope you read, reviewed, and enjoyed.  
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